Between Hello and Roses
by CharmingWords23
Summary: Felicity Smoak had no idea what she was getting herself into when she signed on to be the star of the new season of The Bachelorette. With plenty of drama, adventure, heartbreak, and romance, this season promises to be the most shocking and dramatic yet!
1. First Night

**A/N:** This fic is the first in a series of reality TV show AUs I'm planning to write. It was inspired by and is dedicated to by amazing Twitter friends. Special thanks to Kirena for being my beta reader and helping to keep me on track! I hope you all enjoy. :)

 **Prologue: The First Night**

Felicity Smoak was freaking out. She could barely manage to talk to one man without making a fool out of herself, and now she was about to talk to _twenty_ men on _national television_?! What on _Earth_ had she been thinking when she had let Curtis sign her up for this?

Production Assistants rushed around the set applying the finishing touches to the driveway, the garden, and the front of the house. One woman wearing a headset was dabbing even more makeup on her face while another added more bobby pins and hairspray to Felicity's unruly blonde hair. A producer was droning on and on to her with some final directions, and Felicity tried her best to listen. _Be sure to smile at all times. Don't spend more than 30 seconds on each introduction. Don't worry about catching their names – there will be a cheat sheet for her to use off camera with names and pictures._

"Places everyone!" a voice boomed through a megaphone. Crew members rushed off the set and behind the camera. The sudden emptiness in the large front-yard area was almost jarring. A loud buzzing noise sounded, and the crew fell silent. "And… Action!"

The long time host of the show, Malcolm Merlyn, faced the camera and began his rehearsed monologue.

"Welcome back for a brand new season of the Bachelorette! Our newest Bachelorette is none other than the beautiful and successful Felicity Smoak. She's the CEO of one of the most up-and-coming technology companies in the world, and at only 26, she's been featured in Forbes top career women under 30 two years in a row! But now that her career has taken off, Felicity is here to fill a void in her life – the void left by the absence of Love." Malcolm paused dramatically while the camera zoomed in on Felicity's face. She tried to focus on looking excited and happy to be here, but really she wanted to roll her eyes at how cheesy this was.

She was perfectly fine having a successful career. She didn't need a man to define her happiness – unlike the way Malcolm and the show were sure to portray it. The only reason she'd even agreed to go on this archaic show was because Curtis said the exposure for the company would be good and that they would be able to help a lot more people if -

"Are you ready to meet the bachelors?" Malcolm Merlyn crooned with a fake smile plastered on his face, interrupting her inner tirade. Felicity could only attempt a smile and nodded her head.

A few cameras focused in on her face as the first limo pulled up. A tall, dark, and handsome man stepped out with a million dollar grin (and possibly a million dollar tuxedo). He gracefully made his way towards her, grabbed her hand, and brought it to his lips while she gaped.

"You must be Felicity," he said with a charming glint in his eye. "I'm Tommy Merlyn."

Merlyn? Felicity's eyes flickered over to where Malcolm was hovering just off camera. The look on his face was indecipherable.

Tommy cleared his throat. "Yep, you heard right. Malcolm is my father."

Felicity flushed at her own rudeness. "Oh, sorry! It's great to meet you Tommy. Who your dad is doesn't matter to me."

Tommy grinned again. "I'm glad to hear it. I'll talk to you inside and I'm sure you'll see I'm much more handsome and fun than him anyway." He winked at her and walked past her into the house.

Felicity chuckled and turned back to where the limo door was opening again for the next bachelor to step out and meet her.

The next few limos full of men passed by in a blur. Felicity was startled to meet an eye-patch wearing man with an Australian accent. She was a little creeped out to meet a dark-haired man with big eyes who said he'd been following her career in the technology world since she was in college (he also hinted he knew where she lived…so yeah. Creepy). She was excited to meet a lanky, dorky crime scene investigator. By the time she met the self-proclaimed "hacktivist" with the questionable wardrobe, she was getting pretty tired and overwhelmed. She knew she was about at her limit when she couldn't even remember the man's name who gave her a clock as a present (which was weird, but she pretended to be grateful for it obviously).

She'd met 19 men already. So far, most had been handsome. Some had been charming. A few she could see possibly having a connection with. She hadn't felt the _spark_ yet though. The one her mom always talked about that happens when you meet the one you're supposed to be with. Maybe her mom was wrong? Maybe a spark doesn't come when you're first meeting someone. _Maybe it develops over time_ , she wondered.

Besides, she told herself, coming on this show to _actually_ find love would be naïve. She should be happy to just meet some great guys and hopefully develop some new friendships while getting publicity for her company.

One man left.

While waiting for the final limo, Felicity reminded herself to be polite and keep an open mind. Just because she was tired and overloaded with new names and faces didn't mean she should treat the last bachelor any different. It wouldn't be fair to him if she let her own exhaustion color her first impression of him.

The limo pulled to a stop and the door opened.

Felicity's breath caught when the man inside emerged. He was tall and his well-tailored suit fit snugly against his muscled arms and torso. He had short, light hair and a shadow of stubble across his jaw. His eyes – even from fifteen feet away – were a striking blue.

Felicity gulped. Other men tonight had been handsome, but this one was _beautiful_.

The man walked up to her with a panther-like grace. He smiled at her and extended his hand. She had to remind herself to smile, and promptly realized that she had probably been staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

"Felicity Smoak? Hi, I'm Oliver Queen." His voice was like honey and whiskey and it set her nerves on fire instantly.

"Hi, I'm Felicity Smoak," she stammered, reaching her hand out to fit in his. When her words registered, she cringed, yanked her hand from his, and rested it on her forehead. "Which you knew already since you just said it. I promise I'm not normally like this. It's been a long evening and clearly my brain isn't functioning correctly. It's like that time I had my wisdom teeth removed and my mom said I was talking about a hot, green hooded vigilante when I woke up." She cringed again. "Which you did _not_ need to know. I don't need you to think I'm some sort of supporter of lawless civilians running around and creating their own rules. Not that I think our society is perfect, obviously, because -"

"Felicity." He cut her off by putting his hands on her shoulders. Mortified, she glanced at him and saw his lips turned up at the corner. Something about his expression simultaneously caused her insides to feel like molten lava while also settling her nervous heart rate.

"Oliver," she smiled sheepishly and he grinned in return. "I look forward to talking to you inside and proving that I'm not actually a lunatic."

"I didn't think you were." His eyes twinkled. "And when we talk inside, you'll have to tell me all about this green hooded vigilante."

She playfully shoved his shoulder and he laughed.

"I'll never talk to you again if you're going to keep throwing my momentary lack of filter in my face," she teased.

He smirked. "Never?"

"Never," she confirmed with a nod.

"Well then I'll stop." Even though he was still smiling, his eyes turned a little more serious. Almost pensive. "I already like it when you talk to me."

Heat crept up her neck and into her cheeks. She couldn't believe this! She was blushing like a middle schooler because a handsome boy told her he liked talking to her! What was wrong with her?

Oliver cleared his throat as if to refocus himself. "I'll see you inside, Felicity." Before she could say anything, he leaned in slowly and pressed his soft lips against her cheek. The smell of his aftershave crowded her senses and the soft scratch of his stubble against her jaw left her dizzy.

He drew back and looked at her. He smiled, then walked towards the door into the mansion. She turned to watch him, wondering what had just happened.

 _That_ , she could almost hear her mother saying in her mind, _was a spark._

Maybe there really was hope for this whole thing after all.


	2. First One-on-One Date

**A/N:** Special thanks again to Kirena ( flipflops on AO3) for her help and for being a superstar beta!

 **Chapter 2: The First One-on-One Date**

A week into the show and Felicity was already feeling the stress of being the focus of everyone's eyes. Every time she was with the 10 men she had chosen to keep on the first night, they were crowding around her and trying to grab her attention. Every time she was away from the guys and on her own she had producers in her ear telling her about the next date to come, prompting her to say certain soundbites, and even trying to persuade her to keep certain bachelors over others (which Felicity suspected was strongly tied to ratings. There had to be a reason they kept asking her to keep Creepy Ray and Unstable Slade around, right?).

Not to mention the fact that a camera followed her almost everywhere in case something dramatic were to happen.

When she walked out of her bungalow one morning on her way to craft services for a morning bagel and a cameraman materialized from the bushes, she wondered for the fiftieth time why she had signed up for this.

The only bright spot in the whole experience was the men. For someone who usually preferred interacting with computers as opposed to people, it was surprising to her how much she was enjoying hanging out with and getting to know all the men in the house.

She'd already had a group date this week with a large chunk of the bachelors and had gotten to know some of them better. Tommy Merlyn was a sweet talker and a charmer. He made her feel good about herself and flattered her with compliments. It also didn't hurt that he was good looking.

Barry Allen was another man that stood out to her. He was goofy and nerdy like she was, and he was someone she could joke about Newton's laws with and he would actually get the punchline. She liked that.

A few of the others, Cooper Seldon and Cisco Ramon for example, seemed like nice enough guys too.

And then there was Oliver Queen. That man had made her feel something different on the first night in the house. In that room full of strangers, she had somehow felt totally comfortable with him. He relaxed her with his presence and made her feel more comfortable in her own skin than anyone else did. And he did all that before they'd even had a proper conversation.

Today was a big day because it was her first one-on-one date, and she had decided she wanted to spend it getting to know Oliver better. The planned date would start with them touring a local vineyard and having their own private wine tasting, then they would end the evening with a nice dinner where they could really talk. Although she had developed a schoolgirl crush almost instantly, she knew there needed to be more than good looks and some banter between them for it to go anywhere.

The cameramen were getting into place inside the house as she prepared to walk in to pick up Oliver for their date. An assistant put some finishing touches on her makeup while they waited for the "action" call.

"Felicity," one of the head producers, Amanda Waller, called as she rushed up to the blonde. "So for your date today, keep a couple things in mind."

Felicity nodded, raising her arms to aid the woman wiring her with a microphone.

"First, get him shirtless. Everyone can tell Oliver has a good body, and America will want to see it. Spill some wine on him or something."

"Ok…." Felicity was flummoxed. As socially awkward as she could be sometimes, even _she_ knew that would be extremely awkward and weird. There was a 100% chance she wasn't going to do it despite the clause in the contract about listening to producer instructions.

"Great! Next we need you to get him drunk. Even better if you're drunk too."

Felicity looked at her. "But… what if we do or say things while we're drunk that we wouldn't normally do?"

Amanda regarded her like she was speaking in tongues. "Felicity, honey, that's the point. Drunk people doing crazy things is ratings GOLD!"

"But this is going on TV," Felicity argued. "I have a career to maintain and I'm sure Oliver does too. I don't want to be on TV doing something – "

"Don't worry so much!" Amanda interjected, taking out her phone and scanning through a new email. "Just get drunk and have some fun. I'll take care of the rest."

Felicity sighed. She was pretty sure she wasn't going to be doing that either. The whole reason she agreed to do this show was to bring some good attention to her company, and to do that she needed to have a clear head.

"One more thing," Amanda continued. She lowered her voice at the end and motioned for Felicity to lean in closer. "Ask Oliver about his mother."

Felicity eyed the producer suspiciously. "Why?"

"It doesn't matter. Just do it. Ok places everyone!" The conversation ended as Amanda backed out of the line of the camera and Felicity was left standing on the front step waiting to go inside.

What had Amanda meant? Ask Oliver about his mother? If Amanda's first two requests for the date were any indication, Felicity was pretty sure it was in her best interest to _not_ bring up Oliver's mom today. But now that Amanda had planted the seed…. Felicity hated mysteries.

"ACTION!"

The director's call jolted her back to reality. She walked through the front door of the mansion into the cool air-conditioned foyer and made her way to the living room where Oliver and the rest of the men were waiting.

They cheered loudly when she walked in and she waved sheepishly, feeling her face heat. This could happen fifty more times and she still wouldn't be used to it.

She looked around the group of men – noticing Ray's creepy stare was still creepy, Cooper's floppy hair was still floppy, Barry still smiled like a puppy, and Tommy still had enough charisma to fill up the room even when he wasn't talking. What was interesting (and different) though was that Oliver and Slade were sitting on couches opposite of each other. Slade was smirking – at Oliver – and Oliver's jaw was clenched. When they noticed her come in, Oliver immediately looked up at her and tried to hide his tension. Slade looked up too and let out a low whistle.

"Well damn, Queen, she sure is dressed pretty for you today," Slade joked in his lilting Australian accent while motioning towards the light pink sundress she was wearing. Despite his smile, Felicity felt like there was something beneath his words. Something she didn't like. Some of the men chuckled along with Slade, but a few of them, including Tommy Merlyn, shot the man irritated glares.

Huh. That was interesting.

Oliver did neither. He ignored Slade's comment and simply walked up to take her hand. "You ready?"

Felicity smiled and waved to the other men before she and Oliver walked out the front door together.

"What was that about? In there with Slade?" Felicity asked when they were outside and away from the other men.

Oliver reached for the handle of the town car they would be taking to the vineyard and opened the door for her to climb inside. "It's nothing," he shrugged. He was trying to appear nonchalant, but he couldn't hide the tension in his shoulders or the slight crease between his brow. Felicity narrowed her eyes. Why was he lying?

She stepped forward as if to get into the car and turned back to face him, the door coming up to her shoulder and separating them. "You sure? It seemed like there was some tension in there."

Oliver hesitated and glanced over his shoulder. She followed his gaze and saw the cameraman zooming in to get a better angle on them. She met his eyes to try to tell him she understood. Whatever it was wasn't something he wanted to talk about on camera right now. Fair enough. Plus, to be fair, they really didn't even know each other that well. They'd barely had more than a few conversations. She wasn't in a position to start demanding things he wasn't willing to tell her. "You know what? Never mind. Let's forget about Slade and just have a great day," she offered helpfully.

He smiled at her, the relief evident in his eyes.

He followed her into the backseat of the car and they drove off to the vineyard where they would be spending their day.

An hour and a half later, she and Oliver had finished their tour of the winery and were sitting down at a picnic table in the middle of the vineyard for their own private wine tasting. The tour had gone well. Despite her love of red wine, Felicity had never been to a vineyard or winery before, and she loved learning new things. Oliver had impressed her with his knowledge of the winemaking process – even whispering extra facts to her as they walked around and witnessed the grapes being smashed and mixed into what would one day become wine. He even made her laugh a few times when he told her a few crazy stories of what happens when you botch the winemaking process.

"So now that the tour is over," she began lightly as she looked over the list of wines they were about to be served samples of, "you have to tell me how you know so much about how wine is made."

Oliver chuckled and took a sip of the water in front of him. "My dad was very into wine when I was growing up. He even had a private vineyard on our property and would make his own wines from time to time."

Felicity tried to hide her surprise. "I always imagined Star City as a more urban place. I didn't realize there was that kind of land available there." A server showed up and poured them each a small portion of a select red wine. He left them a small plate of crackers as palate cleansers before disappearing again.

Oliver looked down at the table for a second with an almost sheepish grin on his face. "My family was pretty well-off when I was growing up actually. We lived just outside the city on a pretty large private lot."

Felicity swirled the wine in her glass a bit before taking a sip. "So you are a trust fund baby, is that what you're saying?" she teased.

Oliver huffed a small laugh. "That's one way to put it I guess. What about you? Where did you grow up?" He took a sip of his own wine and Felicity tried not to stare as his lips fit themselves to the rim of his glass and his Adam's Apple bobbed slightly as he swallowed his first sip of the wine.

"I'm from Las Vegas," she began carefully. Being on TV, she had to be sure everything she said matched up nicely with the biography her PR team released about her. People didn't need to know (or want to know) some of the more saddening details of her childhood. "Growing up, I didn't have a yard. I mostly lived in apartment buildings. The thought of having a yard – or a vineyard for that matter – is really different to me. It's kind of nice. Maybe I'd like to try it someday." She looked up at him to see how he would react to the small confession.

He just smiled and shrugged. "It was great as a kid, having all that space to run around. As I got older, being that far from the city life sometimes felt kind of constricting."

Felicity nodded, understanding, before sipping at the next of the wines set out for them to taste – a Rosé.

"What was it like growing up in Las Vegas?" Oliver questioned. "Ever win the jackpot at the Bellagio or anything?"

Felicity laughed and took a sip of another red wine. It was _really_ good. "No. I'm actually banned from most of the casinos in the city."

Oliver barked out a laugh, downing what was left of his allotment of Rosé . "Banned? I have to hear how you managed that."

Felicity giggled, her face heating up. Was it a flush from the wine? She wasn't even sure anymore. "I got caught counting cards. That's a pretty easy way to get blacklisted."

Oliver just shook his head, an amused smile on his face. "So you're a genius is what you're saying?" he teased, repeating the phrasing she had used earlier in the conversation.

She tried not to smile, but she was pretty sure it showed through on her face anyway. "What if I am?"

"Then I'd say you're even more out of my league than I thought."

Felicity laughed and shook her head good naturedly. Oliver wore a small smile, but something about his face made her think he was serious. He couldn't actually believe that, could he? If anything, she – nerdy Felicity Smoak – wasn't in _his_ league. "I'd beg to differ, Mr. Queen," she teased.

Felicity reached for a cracker from the dish between them at the same time as Oliver. Their fingers brushed briefly and their eyes snapped to each other's. He had beautiful blue eyes with a cobalt ring around the outside edge. The moment passed when they heard a faint buzzing. Felicity fought the urge to giggle when she saw the cameraman leaning forward and frantically pressing the "zoom" function on the recording device. For a moment she had almost forgotten how absurd this all was. Just talking to Oliver kind of made it seem like there was no one else around. Huh. How strange.

"CUT!" a voice boomed over the walkie-talkie attached to the camera operator's hip.

Oliver and Felicity looked at each other in confusion. Then Amanda Waller emerged from behind a nearby row of grapevines.

"Ok you two, time for the next surprise portion of your date. You're going to be making wine! Now go change into your bathing suits because we need footage of you stomping on grapes."

Felicity looked at Oliver and couldn't contain her giggles when she saw his nose scrunched up and a crease in his forehead.

"Amanda, you can't be serious," she tried, still giggling (clearly she had tried one too many wines. She _never_ giggled this much, did she?).

"Oh I'm serious," Amanda snipped. "You both have ten minutes to get changed and into the main building up there." She pointed over her shoulder, then turned back to them with raised eyebrows. "Clear?"

Felicity saw Oliver roll his eyes slightly when Amanda wasn't looking, and she snorted a laugh. Amanda narrowed her eyes at her, but Oliver just grinned.

"Uh, yeah, we'll be there Amanda," Felicity assured her. She and Oliver shared a secret smile before standing up and parting to make their way towards their respective areas in the production tent to change.

After changing into the skimpy bathing suit the show provided for her, Felicity emerged (wearing a giant robe, thankfully) and was immediately flagged down by Amanda on her way to where she was supposed to meet Oliver for their impromptu grape smashing.

"Felicity! Good you're dressed. We're going to do the grape smashing for about 15 minutes, so make sure you make it interesting." Amanda whispered something into her headset then that Felicity couldn't hear.

"I thought the plan was the wine tasting then dinner. No one said anything about smashing grapes while wearing a bikini that covers less than my actual underwear," Felicity whispered in irritation.

Amanda rolled her eyes and Felicity resisted the urge to ball up her fists in anger. "Sex sells Felicity. I asked you to do three things for me, and you haven't done any of them yet. So I'm taking matters into my own hands. At least we'll get Oliver shirtless for sure so the date's not a total loss."

"Hey!" Felicity protested, faltering a little trying to keep up with Amanda's brisk pace. "I think the date's going really well! Better than I ever imagined actually. Oliver is –"

Amanda whirled on her and Felicity stumbled to a stop. "It doesn't matter how you _feel_ Felicity. The only thing that matters is the narrative we're trying to sell. And sipping some wine and having a conversation with this season's sex symbol does _not_ make for interesting television. Getting half naked and smashing grapes together on the other hand…."

Felicity ground her teeth together in irritation as she and Amanda walked into the room where said grape smashing would be happening. There were crew members rushing around, sprucing up the background of the shot. At the center of the room was a large wooden tub that Felicity could only assume was filled with grapes and grape juice.

It was then that it hit her that she was going to have to take off her robe and wear only this skimpy white bikini in front of not only all these people, but the millions of people who watch the show on a regular basis. Her stomach dropped and she started to fidget nervously. She knew she didn't have anything to be embarrassed about. She was comfortable with her size and her body. She wasn't the type of person to feel self-conscious when laying out at the pool or anything….yet something about this whole situation was making her feel shy. She didn't even know over half of the people in this room, but they would be watching her and filming her while she wore next to nothing. It was a little _weird_.

"Places!" Amanda called loudly. A production assistant ran up to Felicity and motioned for her to hand over her robe. Felicity sighed.

Before she could come up with an excuse to stall this whole thing long enough to find a normal bathing suit that at least _attempted_ modestly, she felt the pressure of a warm hand on the center of her back through the robe.

"Say the word and I'll tell Amanda to go to hell with this dumb idea," Oliver whispered in her ear from where he had materialized at her side. "Or tell her to at least let us wear clothes." Felicity felt relief drain through her, his voice relaxing her. How could someone she just met have that kind of effect on her already? She kind of liked it.

She turned to look at him and shook her head with a thankful smile. "It's not worth fighting her on this. I mean I knew when I signed on I'd have to be in a bathing suit at some point, it's just that now that it's a reality that I'm going to be on television wearing barely anything it's a little…." She trailed off when she noticed he was shirtless – just like Amanda wanted – and HOLY HELL. She wasn't wrong. The man had a body sculpted by God himself! His arms bulged in all the right places, his chest was broad and looked hard as a rock, and his abs….good Lord! She didn't even know it was possible to have ab muscles like that.

Her mouth ran dry. She looked back up at his face to find him smirking at her with raised eyebrows, and she promptly flushed what she was sure was a bright crimson color.

"I said places!" Amanda roared. "Felicity! Oliver! Stop talking when the camera's not on! In the tub right now! We don't have all day!"

Oliver huffed out a breath that made it seem like he was displeased, and they walked together towards the giant tub. Oliver climbed up and over the ledge first. The edge of the bin was tall enough that it ended at just about his naval. With their height difference, Felicity knew that meant the walls of the tub would easily come up to her mid-torso.

Amanda started counting down loudly to speed things up. Felicity rolled her eyes, removed her robe, and handed it to the PA next to her. She looked up at Oliver and saw him staring at her, the look on his face unreadable.

"Jesus Felicity," he said in a strangled voice. " _You_ were shy about your body on camera? Why? You're …" He trailed off and shook his head, amusement sneaking onto his face in the form of a slight smile.

Felicity felt her face heating in pleasure as she climbed up the ladder and into the tub. "It's the principle of it," she defended herself. She lowered her foot into the mushy mess and grimaced at the strange feeling of the partially smashed grapes seeping between her toes. "This feels so weird!" she exclaimed with a laugh.

"Ok they're finally in the tub!" Amanda called. "Three, two, one, ACTION!"

The camera lights flashed on.

"So….what do we do? Just stomp around?" Felicity questioned.

Oliver shrugged. "I know I said my dad used to make wine, but believe it or not I've never done this."

Felicity smiled and raised her left leg up to stomp down on the grapes. A _squish_ sound echoed in the room as the goopy grapes moved around to accommodate her foot crushing down on them. Some of the grape juice even splattered upward when her foot first entered the soggy mixture. Amused, she repeated the action with her right foot, then her left again – the combination of the _squish_ sounds and the feeling of the cold goop against her skin making her laugh. "This is fun!" she proclaimed, turning to see if he was joining in the fun.

He wasn't. He was just standing there watching her with a huge grin on his face.

"What?" she demanded playfully.

"Nothing, you've just got a little…" he trailed off and pointed to her face.

Perplexed, she reached up to wipe her hand across her face. Too late, she realized some of the smashed grapes and splattered onto her hand…and she had just smeared it across her own cheek. Her mouth fell open and Oliver busted out laughing.

"You did not!" she accused, taking a step towards him.

He held up his hands and tried to quell his laughter. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Don't!"

Too late. She had reached down and scooped up a small handful of the mushy grapes and lobbed it in his direction. It hit him square in the shoulder. He stopped laughing at gaped at her. "There, we're even." She smiled sweetly.

He took a step towards her, a predatory glint in his eye that had her stomach flipping. "I don't think so."

He lifted his hand and tossed a handful of the mixture lightly into the air so that splotches of grape juice rained down over her. She squeaked and jumped forward in an attempt to avoid the dark purple drops but still felt the cool goo plop down in spots on her head, the tips of her ears, and her shoulders. "You'll pay for that," she threatened playfully, taking another step towards him.

"No Felicity, we're even now. We can stop." His lips twitched. He held his hands up in front of him defensively as she stepped closer and closer to him.

Felicity nodded her head with a sweet smile on her face and held his gaze as she stepped even closer – close enough to reach out and touch him. "You're right. No sense in getting even dirtier than we already are."

As Oliver was in the middle of a nod of agreement, he gasped. She had reached down into the grape goo and promptly batted his arms out of the way so she could spread the cold, lumpy grapes straight down over his broad chest. They both looked down to see what she'd done and saw two long trails of grape goop trailing down from the top of his chest and down his abs. She bit her lip and looked up at him innocently. "Oops?"

Something flickered in his eye, and it wasn't the amusement she had been seeing the whole time. This was something different that had her stomach doing somersaults and her breath catching slightly. She stepped back just as he stepped forward, invading her space.

"Oliver…." She tried with a giggle, about to warn him away from trying anything like dunking her under the grape juice in retaliation.

Oliver crowded forward until her back bumped into the side of the wooden tub. She was trapped between the tub and him and he was staring at her with that look in his eye. Her stomach flipped again. She laughed a little breathlessly as he started leaning forward more and more into her personal space, " _Now_ we're even….I don't know what – _Oh._ "

Oliver had leaned close enough that they were practically breathing the same air and then reached the pad of his thumb up to wipe some of the grape goo gently from just under her eye. Her eyelids fluttered shut at the contact, and she felt her breathing speed up. When she opened her eyes a moment later, her eyes connected with his as he pulled his thumb into his mouth to taste the grape substance.

She shivered, never looking away from his eyes. _Holy shit._ This man made the simple act of licking grape juice off his fingers look like the sexiest thing she'd ever seen.

Oliver smirked, clearly enjoying whatever reaction he saw on her face. He pulled his thumb away from his mouth and Felicity watched his tongue dart out to lick his lips. "This is pretty good," Oliver said in a voice that seemed a little more gravelly than usual (but maybe she was imagining it). "We'll have to get a bottle when it's finished."

Felicity nodded, not trusting herself to speak just yet without sounding like a complete idiot.

"CUT!"

The loud voice jarred her and she jumped in surprise. She felt Oliver's hand come to rest on the side of her waist to steady her, and they both looked up to see Amanda walking towards them with a smile on her face.

"Wonderful!" She praised. "Exactly what we needed. You really turned up the heat like I asked. The execs are going to love this!"

Felicity looked up at Oliver but couldn't decipher his expression. Amanda had asked her to spice up the date a bit, but Felicity knew that as soon as she'd gotten in the tub with Oliver, she'd totally forgotten everything Amanda had said. She'd genuinely been having fun. But…. Had Amanda told Oliver the same thing? Had he only been acting that way because of her direction? Was that heated moment a minute ago something he did because he wanted to or only for the benefit of the cameras?

"Now get out of this disgusting tub so we can get you two cleaned up in time for dinner tonight!" she demanded. She turned to leave, shouting something into her headset, and left Felicity trying to beat back the nagging doubt she now felt. They still had dinner tonight. She could find out if it was all an act then. For now, she vowed to just keep enjoying what was turning out to be a great day.

* * *

Felicity's hair and makeup team had worked their magic in record time after the grape throwing incidents of that afternoon. Within only an hour, her hair and skin had been scrubbed clean, her makeup had been re-applied, her hair had been curled into loose waves that cascaded over her right shoulder, and she had been forced into a tight (but admittedly beautiful) red dress. Plus Amanda had been so pleased by what she saw in the grape smashing tub that she only gently reminded Felicity to ask about Oliver's mother instead of demanding and threatening like usual.

Dinner was being served in the wine cellar at the winery – which sounds strange, but Amanda had made sure it had been adequately transformed. The candlelight from the many standing candle holders cast a soft glow about the room, and where they reflected off the wine bottles stacked up along the walls it created a beautiful sparkle. A table was set up in the center of the room with more candles on it and some of the most expensive looking dishes and silverware Felicity had ever seen.

The crew had worked their magic on Oliver too, not that making him look good required much work. When she had walked into the cellar and seen him waiting at the table already in his three-piece suit, she had needed a moment to steady her heartbeat. Then he'd spotted her and smiled one of those smiles that she was quickly realizing made her knees weak, and she'd known there was no slowing down the erratic beat of her heart.

She told herself it was just a byproduct of the situation – the romantic date, the handsome man, the delicious wine. Any girl would get caught up in it. That's all this was. She was sure of it, because how could a man she'd just met recently, and on a television show no less, have this kind of effect on her? It couldn't be _real_ feelings. Just her emotions getting manipulated and confused.

Plus, she couldn't shake the nagging doubt that this was too good to be true - that this handsome, funny, and interesting man was putting on an act. She had wondered if that would happen before the show even started, and after Amanda's comment that afternoon, she was wondering again.

It shouldn't have bothered her. She herself wasn't _totally_ here expecting to find a relationship. Her main goal was to bring positive attention to her company. If some of the men here were behaving a certain way because they were on TV, she had to expect that really, didn't she? So why did she feel unsettled and disappointed thinking that her time with Oliver so far today could have been a façade he was putting on for the public?

Shaking her head to save these thoughts for a later time, Felicity had put on her best television smile and had joined him at the dinner table while the cameras crowded around to be able to catch every word and look from every angle.

Dinner had gone just as smoothly as the entire day so far. Once she and Oliver began talking, it was as if no one else was there. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that was dangerous and that she needed to be camera conscious at all times, but that part of her was buried far enough back that her conscious didn't really care. She let herself get swept up in the ease of just talking to him and joking with him.

They talked about their favorite foods. They laughed over their favorite movies. They discussed their educations, and Felicity was surprised when he sheepishly admitted to being kicked out of four different colleges. He told her about his wild days as a teenager, and she told him how she never got to _be_ a teenager because she skipped so many grade levels and entered MIT so early.

While they ate and got to know each other better, Felicity carefully avoided any topics about his family. Amanda had instructed her to ask about his mother, and if Felicity knew anything about Amanda, it was because Amanda knew it would be a touchy subject for Oliver. The last thing Felicity wanted was to ruin what had been a great day so far by turning things awkward or tense.

Before she knew it, dinner was coming to an end and the waiter was setting dessert down in front of them. Her eyes widened and she clapped her hands in delight when she saw they were being served chocolate soufflés.

Oliver looked at her curiously. "I'm guessing you like soufflés?" he teased.

"Only as much as a bee likes honey," she confirmed before putting her soufflé filled spoon into her mouth and smiling in satisfaction.

Oliver chuckled and shook his head.

"So tell me about your job," Felicity asked lightly, watching him take the first bite of his soufflé. "You have yet to tell me what it is you do."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "You first. From what I can tell, you're the one with a high-powered career."

Felicity blushed slightly and smiled. "I wouldn't call it high-powered exactly… but I do run my own technology company. Which is pretty much a dream come true."

Oliver watched her. "That's impressive. What does your company do?"

"We work on software that programs bionic limbs for people who need them, like military veterans and people born without arms or legs. It's pretty amazing actually – the software we designed syncs with the specific brain patterns and nerve endings of the person we attach it to so the artificial limb, with therapy, begins to function the exact way a natural limb would. We've actually just acquired the company that designs the hardware, so we're hopeful we can start streamlining the process of installing the software in the actual limbs to make it more affordable and accessible to everyone who needs it… As it is, we have to constantly fight with insurance companies to get them to cover the materials, which is ridiculous because…" Felicity trailed off when she realized she was doing what Curtis affectionately called her 'soapbox routine'. She blushed, slightly embarrassed, and looked up.

Oliver didn't seem bothered. In fact, he was staring at her with an intense look on his face she didn't know how to describe. A look that resembled the one she'd seen in the grape tub earlier that day that made her stomach erupt with butterflies. Almost as soon as she looked up though, the look vanished and in its place she saw a small smile.

"Sorry, you might have noticed I talk a lot," she said with a bashful smile.

"Don't apologize. I like it."

Felicity laughed. "You'd be the first then." Oliver just shook his head and smiled. "Your turn. No more distracting me so I don't find out about your job, Oliver," she teased.

Oliver smirked. "That obvious?"

"Transparent," she confirmed with a grin before taking another bite of her soufflé.

Oliver sighed good-naturedly. "Well, for a while after college I worked for my family's company. The corporate life really wasn't the life for me, so when it merged with a larger company about a year ago, I decided not to stay on."

Felicity nodded in understanding. "So what are you doing now? Is there something else you'd like to do?"

Oliver shifted in his seat. "Actually there is something…" He looked at her and his face held almost a vulnerable quality. It had Felicity leaning forward in her seat to hear what he'd say. "The city I'm from – Star City – there are a lot of problems there. I grew up living such a privileged life that I never really… I never knew how bad it was for some people."

Felicity nodded. She could understand that. Although she wasn't rich growing up, she knew she was blessed to have had a mother who loved her and a decent place to live.

Oliver cleared his throat. "Some recent life events have made me more aware…and I've been feeling like I have a responsibility to try to help the people of my city. Beyond just writing a check to the local homeless shelter. I've been thinking about running for mayor maybe – doing something that can really make a difference. It probably sounds crazy, I know." He shook his head and laughed in a self-deprecating way.

Felicity watched him. She could tell by his tone and his posture that he was serious – perhaps more serious about this than anything he'd told her since the first night she met him. This mattered to him.

"It's not crazy," she said softly, reaching out to cover his hand where it rested on the table with her own. "In fact, I think that kind of makes you a hero."

He regarded her carefully, flipping his hand over so that their palms were connected on the table, his fingertips resting against the tip of her wrist. "Far from a hero," he shook his head with a small smile. "What you're doing – changing people's lives – that's heroic."

"You're selling yourself short," she asserted, her gaze not leaving his face as she absently let her fingertip start drawing patterns on the palm of his hand.

That look – the one she couldn't name – returned. He didn't say anything, and neither did she. She just offered him a small smile, and was rewarded when his lips turned up slightly in return.

"CUT!"

Felicity jumped and Oliver swore in surprise.

"Great job you two! But we're supposed to be out of here in 10 minutes, so we're going to have to call it a night," Amanda called as she started snapping her fingers at the camera crew.

"Jesus Amanda, a little warning next time?" Oliver said through clenched teeth.

Amanda looked at him and squinted her eyes. "Look, it's not all about you. Now both of you, let's go. We have to get back to the house."

Although he didn't say anything, Felicity could tell he was just as irritated by Amanda's attitude as she was.

They rode back to the house surrounded by crew members – which made it basically impossible to keep talking. She was surprised, and irrationally happy, when Oliver took her hand in his in the limo though and began tracing the lines on the inside of her palm.

There weren't any cameras on right now, but he was holding her hand. That had to mean something, right?

She hadn't come here with the expectation of actually finding love, but after today…she was starting to think maybe it was possible. Was it too much to hope for that she could bring positive attention to her company and also form a deep connection with someone?

She wasn't an idiot. She knew that the setting and the romance of the day was probably contributing heavily to how she was feeling about Oliver, but she couldn't deny the way her stomach flipped when he smiled at her or the way she felt like he was really _seeing_ her when she explained her goal to help people through her company. She couldn't ignore the fact that she could understand his desire to help the people of his city and how she felt comfortable and relaxed when she was with him.

It had been a _long_ time since she'd felt like this around a guy.

She'd be lying if she said that didn't give her hope. She'd be a fool if she said she didn't want to spend more time with him to see where this could go.

She'd also be remiss to let herself get carried away. At the end of the day, she knew this was a TV show. She'd take things slow. Get to know him better – just like she was doing with all the other men. She wouldn't pin all her future hopes and dreams on him. She wouldn't let herself _really_ start to develop feelings for him. Not until she was sure it could be real and that everything he said and did was genuine and wasn't for the sake of the show.

When they arrived back at the mansion, Oliver insisted on walking her to her door at the small bungalow next door (and Amanda insisted on a camera following them "just in case"). Oliver held her hand in his as they walked down the path towards her door, and she reveled in the way the heat from his hand seemed to seep into her skin and spread up her arm.

They reached the door, and Oliver hesitated.

"Well," Felicity began, "This is my door. I'd invite you in, but I don't think I'm allowed." She winced when she realized what she'd said and saw the camera person zooming in. "NOT that I do that a lot. Or at all. Invite guys in after a first date, I mean. Not that there's anything wrong with that of course! A woman can do what she wants with her own body, it's just that that's not what I want. I mean, of course I _want_ to because you're gorgeous, I just mean that… OH GOD. Please stop me!" She covered her face with her hands in mortification. At least she'd waited until after the date ended to totally humiliate herself.

"Felicity." Oliver pulled her hands back from her face, and she saw he was grinning at her. His hands slid to the side of her head, framing her face. She looked right at him, searching his eyes. His blue eyes flickered over her shoulder to where she knew the camera was, then back to hers. In the dim light of the evening, she could see his pupils were wider than they had been in the bright light of the vineyard this afternoon.

"I had a nice time today, Oliver," she whispered, unable to look away from his eyes.

She could see the exact moment he made up his mind about something because his expression faded from one of amusement to one that was intense and serious.

Before she could ask him why, he leaned forward until his lips pressed lightly against hers. Taken off guard, she gasped and her eyes fluttered shut. His lips were soft and warm, and she could feel his stubble lightly scraping against her chin while his large hands continued to frame her face. She let her lips meld with his, opening them slightly, and wound her arms up around his neck to pull him closer. He pulled her bottom lip in between his own and let his hands slide down slightly so they were placed on the sides of her neck and the back of her head.

It was a simple kiss – almost chaste even – but when they pulled apart moments later, she felt dizzy and weak. They lingered together, breathing the same air, and Felicity lifted her hooded eyes to meet his.

She's not sure what she was expecting to see, but it wasn't the shattered look on his face. His eyelids looked heavy, his pupils blown, and his breathing was heavy. In his eyes she could see a reflection of her own feelings – lust, admiration, and surprise. But there was something else there too. Something small, but noticeable. Fear?

He pulled back further so that there was space for cool air to seep between their bodies again.

When he spoke, his voice held that low, gravelly tone she thought she'd heard that afternoon. "I had a nice time too." She smiled at him, and he smiled back. "Goodnight, Felicity." He leaned in again and left a soft kiss on her cheek.

He left with the camera person, and Felicity went inside the bungalow and leaned back against the door. She had _never_ had a kiss like that. A kiss that was short and sweet, but left her feeling like she'd been turned upside down. Her brain was fuzzy, her heart was still racing, and she couldn't stop thinking about the feeling of his lips on hers.

She reached a hand up and pressed her fingers to her lips in a daze.

So much for not letting herself feel anything yet.

Something told her she was already past the point of no return.


	3. First Group Date

**Chapter 3: First Group Date**

Almost two weeks had passed in the Bachelor mansion since Felicity's one-one-one date with Oliver. The producers had forbidden her from giving Oliver a date the following week, not even a group date, because they said she needed to "give other men a chance" and "make it look competitive."

It was frustrating to her because after that first date, all she wanted to do was spend more time with Oliver – in any capacity. All they'd been allowed was some time at the cocktail party before the rose ceremony, which wasn't nearly enough to satisfy her. Like a schoolgirl with a crush, Felicity found herself thinking about Oliver all the time – even on her other dates sometimes – and she even had dreams featuring him once or twice.

Logically she knew this was ridiculous. She'd been on _one_ date with him! She shouldn't be thinking about him nonstop and counting down the days until she'd see him again. But emotionally…she couldn't stop it.

She tried to though. She really did try to give some of the other men a chance. She gave Barry Allen a one-on-one date the following week. Felicity liked him a lot. He was funny, and sweet, and smart. They were compatible in so many ways, and when the date ended, Felicity knew that Barry was exactly the type of guy she would date outside of this show. The only thing that kept her from feeling excited about Barry Allen was Oliver Queen. When she was with Barry, she didn't feel the same nervous butterflies that she did when she was with Oliver. When she was with Barry, she didn't feel warm and confident every time he looked at her. With Barry, she wasn't concerned that anything he did or said was an act – not only because the guy was as open as a book, but also because Felicity realized later that if it were an act, she wouldn't _care_ that much.

She'd also spent time on a group date with a couple of the other guys. None of them stood out to her as anyone she'd like to date outside of the show. Tommy Merlyn – despite his charisma – was much too much of a charmer to be someone she'd date. Cooper had caught her interest at first, but the more he talked, the more Felicity realized their interests and personalities didn't line up very well. Ray had creeped her out at first, but the more she got to know him, the more she realized he was actually a good guy. He was just a little awkward and lacked a sense of social awareness that she'd probably require in any man she would willingly date.

She had known right away that she had no interest in the loud, brash Slade Wilson, but Amanda had insisted that she keep him at each rose ceremony because she said Slade made "good TV." God knows what he was saying in each of his diary room sessions that would classify him as "good TV."

After every date, every interaction even, her mind had always wandered back to Oliver. What was he doing? Was he thinking about their date? Did he wish he was there with her, or was he enjoying his time away from the camera?

This week, Amanda had given Felicity the greenlight to invite Oliver back on another date, albeit only a group date, but still. Felicity was excited to get to spend more quality time with the man who wouldn't leave her thoughts alone.

For the date today, Felicity and the five men accompanying her (Oliver, Cooper, Ray, Barry, and Slade) were going to be spending the day at a teambuilding course where they would get to compete against each other and work together to complete different tasks. Felicity didn't know many of the details other than there would be an obstacle course and a romantic lunch. Felicity usually wasn't much of a fan of excessive physical activity (she much preferred mental activity while sitting stationary at her computer), but Amanda had been adamant that this date couldn't change. She said America wanted to see these men do 'manly physical activities' – whatever that meant.

So there she was, wearing spandex pants that were too tight to be totally comfortable and a tank top, on her way to meet up with the guys at the campground that they would be using for their day's activities.

"Now remember, Felicity," Amanda was saying seriously as Felicity was fitted with her microphone. "This is a TV show, and we need drama. Group dates are meant to be awkward and they're meant to force these men into reacting jealously. Don't try to stop it. Encourage it."

"You want me to purposely make them upset?" Felicity questioned skeptically. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because of _ratings_ , Felicity. For God's sake. They told me you were smart!" Amanda turned away from her and began saying something into her headset.

Felicity ground her teeth together in irritation. When she had signed on for this, she had had no idea the level of manipulation and contrived circumstances that would be involved. It was tiring to have Amanda in her ear all the time telling her to say and do things she wouldn't normally do. It was also irritating that every time she pushed back on Amanda, the producer waved the contract she'd signed in front of her face and threatened to give Felicity a bad edit throughout the show. The last thing Felicity needed was to come out of this show as someone the public disliked – that would be the total opposite of what she was trying to achieve for her company. So ever since her first date when she refused to ask Oliver about his mother and Amanda had read her the riot act behind the scenes the next day, Felicity had begrudgingly gone along with what Amanda asked.

The town car they'd been driving in pulled to a stop at the edge of a beautiful wooded area with a quant "Welcome Center" situated just in front of it. Felicity and Amanda exited the car and Felicity followed the film crew through a well manicured path deep into the woods.

As they approached a clearing, Felicity could hear the crew hustling around and getting set up. Through the trees, she could see a large wooden structure that looked like some kind of jungle gym but bigger and taller. They weren't going to be using _that_ , right? Was that why Amanda had made her sign a personal injury waiver? Felicity drew in a nervous breath.

When everything was set up and her make-up was up to Amanda's television standard, Felicity was shuffled to the center of the clearing to stand in front of the wooden contraption. Staring at it, Felicity noticed right away that there were wooden pegs and ropes extending up the structure – which had to be standing at least 50 feet into the air. Then from the top there were more ropes and a swinging wooden bridge that extended outwards and disappeared into the woods.

"Places everyone!" Amanda called as a final warning. Felicity didn't have time to freak out about possibly being forced up to the top of the wooden death trap behind her because as soon as Amanda called 'Action,' Malcolm Merlyn entered the clearing followed by the five men she had invited on the date.

Barry was the first to come in, and his bright smile was infectious. Felicity felt herself smiling widely in response as he rushed up to her and gave her a hug. Seeing and hugging Barry was like hugging sunshine. Felicity absently wondered if Barry was ever in a bad mood.

Cooper and Ray were next, and they also gave her a hug before joining Barry standing by Malcolm. Cooper's hug was loose and impersonal. Ray's was too tight, and Felicity had to bite her tongue to keep from telling him his hand was too low. Thankfully, neither hug lasted long.

Slade came in next wearing his trademark smirk. His dark hair blew in the wind and, despite the black eyepatch he insisted on wearing, Felicity couldn't deny the man was handsome. He came up to her and wrapped her in a hug. Felicity resisted the urge to squirm when he buried his face in her neck and whispered, "hello, gorgeous." Slade's Australian accent was probably enough to make most women melt, but not Felicity. Somehow the accent even seemed to amplify how unsettling everything he said made her feel. There was just something off about him.

"You look sexy today," he added as he pulled away from her and winked. Felicity forced a smile and nodded in thanks, but his comment did little to make her feel good. Coming from him, it just made her feel dirty and in need of a shower and a nice big sweatshirt.

Slade joined the other men and Oliver walked into the clearing. The tension Felicity had been feeling from her interaction with Slade thawed when she saw Oliver walking towards her. It had been a couple days since she'd seen him, and she could feel the relief of being in his presence almost immediately.

He smiled as he walked up to her and it caused the usual butterflies to begin fluttering around in her stomach. "Hi," she greeted with a smile as he got closer.

"Hi," he answered back, getting close enough to wrap his arms around her in a quick hug. Oliver didn't hug like Barry (like he was just plain happy to see you) and he didn't hug like Slade (like the hug held a promise of something to come, and not necessarily something pleasant). Oliver's hug was something different. Feeling his arms around her back and her front pressed against him, Felicity could feel any stress and tension she felt about the day seep out of her. Oliver's hug was one that said, 'I'm glad to see you' and 'I've got you.'

He turned his head and left a gentle kiss just below her ear before pulling away. The simple act had her heart racing so much that she almost missed the small shadow at the top of his nose and below his left eye.

"Oliver," she called quickly, grabbing his upper arm to keep him in place before he could turn away. She reached out to run her finger over the dark spot. "What happened? Is this a bruise?"

Something flashed in Oliver's eyes, but he hid it quickly. It bothered Felicity when he shook his head and smiled instead of telling her the truth. "It's nothing."

"But – "

Malcolm cleared his throat loudly. Felicity looked over to glare at him.

"Felicity." Oliver pulled her hand from his face and softly kissed her fingertips. "It's nothing. I promise."

With no choice but to believe him for now, Felicity let him go and took her place next to him in the line of men to wait for Malcolm's directions.

"Felicity, gentlemen, welcome to Emerald Woods Nature Retreat!" Malcolm began in his trademark 'host' voice. "Today you're going to be put to the test to complete mental and physical challenges. You'll have to work together _and_ compete against each other at different times throughout the day – so Felicity will be able to see which of you has what it takes to be a good teammate in a relationship and which of you is willing to do what it takes to win her heart."

Malcolm paused dramatically as the cameraperson walked down the line to get close-ups of the men's faces.

"Are you ready for the first task?" Malcolm crooned.

The men clapped and nodded (Barry even yelled out an excited "yeah!").

Malcolm motioned towards the large wooden structure. "First up is the treetop ropes course!"

Felicity felt her stomach drop. "Treetop?" she whispered automatically. _NO._ Amanda knew she had a fear of heights, right? She'd been very specific about that during her entrance interview! Out of the corner of her eye, Felicity saw Oliver look at her in concern.

"When the whistle blows, each team will race to the top of the platform by climbing the pegs and ropes. Then you'll make your way across the bridge and into the course where you'll have to get through three obstacles together before you reach the finish line. The winning team will get to spend more one-on-one time with the beautiful Felicity during lunch. Is everyone ready?"

There were some cheers from the men. Oliver clapped like he was expected to, but Felicity could feel his eyes on her. She wondered if she looked as terrified as she felt.

Amanda called "cut" and the workers from the retreat center rushed in to begin handing out harnesses and helmets. Felicity took one of the harnesses and stepped into it, fastening the buckles around her waist. She tried to take deep breaths and to distract herself from the fact that she was supposed to climb to the top of the enormous structure in front of her. It didn't work, and instead the production people rushing around faded into the background as she stared at the beginning of the course in front of her.

It was _high_. Climbing up the pegs and ropes would take her to the platform overhead which was _at least_ 50 feet high. If she fell from there and her harness didn't catch her, she'd probably die. And if the fall didn't kill her, the fear definitely would. While she tried to mentally calculate the speed at which she would fall and the force with which she would hit the ground, she felt a hand settle on her shoulder.

"Not a fan of heights, I'm guessing?" Oliver teased, taking the helmet she was holding from her hand and settling it on her head.

"No, not really," Felicity admitted, reaching her shaking hands up to try to fasten the buckle of her helmet. She was glad Amanda had thought to warn her to wear contacts today. Her glasses definitely wouldn't have been comfortable crushed against her skull by the tight helmet. "Ever since I was young and… ever since I was young I haven't liked climbing or being high up."

Oliver nodded, lightly batting her hands away so he could easily snap the helmet clasp together under her chin for her. She smiled in thanks.

"Well, lucky for you, they put me on your team and I'm an accomplished climber," he joked, methodically pulling on the different belts of her harness to test that they were secure.

Felicity laughed. "Oh really?"

"Mm-hmm. So even if you're slow, we have a good chance of winning."

Felicity squinted playfully and gave his shoulder a shove. He laughed in response. "I take back everything I said about you being heroic," she replied, trying not to smile. "A real hero would promise to catch me if I fall."

Oliver stopped pulling on her harness buckles, seemingly satisfied that they were tight enough. "Something tells me you're the type who won't need anyone to catch you because you'll kick ass even though you're scared."

Felicity looked up at him and felt herself relax.

He put his hand on her shoulder again, squeezing a little in reassurance. "But I'll wait behind you just in case."

"Hey teammates! Are you ready to win this thing?" Ray Palmer called as he approached them, fiddling with the buckle on his harness repeatedly until an assistant had to come over and fasten it for him.

"I'm ready," Felicity affirmed, thankful that Oliver had not removed his hand from her shoulder even though he'd shifted to her side. Something about his touch still had the same calming effect on her that it had since the first night.

Ray pumped his fist in the air, his eyes doing that weird bulging thing they did when he got excited or drank too much coffee. "Yes! Now Felicity, I know this is probably very scary for you. I myself am slightly terrified. But I want you to know that if it gets to be too much for you, just let me know. I'll carry you anywhere you want. All you have to do is ask."

"Uh wow, Ray. That's really nice." Felicity smiled awkwardly and elbowed Oliver in the ribs when she heard him trying to cover his laughter with fake coughing.

"I'm just saying," Ray continued, clueless, "I know most women don't have the same physicality or mental stamina that men do, so this course could be intimidating to someone of your stature. But I want you to know I'm here for you and I will help you in any way I can so that you'll be able to finish the course."

Felicity felt her eyelid twitch a little and glanced at Oliver to see him looking at Ray with raised eyebrows and an incredulous expression. She turned back to Ray, her nerves about the course being slowly converted into irritation at his assumption that she wouldn't be able to do it without help.

"Ray," she began firmly, "I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll be fine. In fact, I was hoping you could take the lead on the course? I'll follow you, and Oliver will be last."

Ray nodded seriously. "A great strategy, Felicity." He turned to Oliver and punched his arm good-naturedly. "Try not to bring up the rear too slowly," Ray joked. "Remember it's a race."

Oliver smiled tightly and murmured a "mm-hmm" through his clenched lips.

The three were ushered over to the base of the towering structure. The three men on the other team were led to the other side of the wall – presumably so that they would have their own side to climb. Felicity could hear Slade barking orders to Barry and Cooper. She was glad Slade has been put on the opposite team. If it had been up to her, he would have been out the first night.

Employees from the retreat center double checked all their harnesses and clipped safety ropes to the harnesses between their shoulder blades and at their waists. Felicity felt a little better as they explained how the harness worked to catch you if you fell. The workers gave them some last minute instructions about how to effectively and safely climb the walls and how to navigate the course once they'd crossed the bridge.

When everyone was ready and the cameras were all in place, Malcolm signaled for the race to begin by blowing a loud, piercing whistle.

Felicity chewed on her lip as Ray began climbing up the wall. It was large enough that two people could probably climb up at once, but they had agreed to climb in a line so that Ray could find an easy path through the pegs and ropes, and then Felicity and Oliver could follow the same path. She watched nervously as Ray hoisted himself up one peg at a time, steadily rising towards the top of structure. When he was about halfway up, he called over his shoulder for Felicity to begin climbing.

She looked over at Oliver, who gave her an encouraging nod. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She could do this.

Felicity stepped up to the wall and wiped her sweaty hands on her shirt. She reached up to grab the first wooden peg and then lifted her right leg up to rest on another peg. Then she began climbing. With every inch she moved upward, her heart rate sped up until the adrenaline pumping in her ears was so loud she could barely hear Oliver and the crew cheering her on from the ground or Slade shouting profanities at his teammates on the other side of the wooden tower.

Her hands and legs shook slightly as she methodically reached for the next peg, pulled herself upward, and then lifted a leg to pull the rest of her body up to the next rung. She stayed close to the wall and refused to let herself think about how long she'd been climbing or how high up she was already. Like when writing a code, she had to focus on just the next sequence. Get it right, then move to the next one and repeat.

She continued that way, one obstacle at a time. A few minutes after she'd begun, she heard Ray call to her from above that he had reached the top. She looked upward at the sound of his voice and her stomach plummeted when she saw how much there was left to climb. She must have been pretty high already, and she was about to get so much higher….

Before she could refocus herself and take a deep breath to try to calm down, she heard a distinctly Australian voice call to her from below. "Careful now, sweetheart! Don't fall!"

Automatically, she looked down and saw Slade had walked over to her side of the tower to check her progress. The first thing she noticed was Oliver say something and shove Slade backwards. Next she saw a few crew members step in between them and push them away from each other. Then, before she could think about how odd that all was, she noticed the ground.

It was far away.

With a squeak of unease, she gripped the pegs she was holding even tighter and smashed herself against the wall in an attempt to get her bearings. Her breaths were coming too fast and her hands were shaking more than they had before. She squeezed her eyes shut to try to block out the image of being so far up, but it made it worse.

Other images flashed before her closed eyelids. A car pulling out of a driveway. A teddy bear cradled between two closely hanging tree limbs. A swirl of blurry blue and green mixing together. A pain so intense she felt like she was going to throw up. A voice she hadn't heard in many years. " _I'll be back soon, Felicity."_

No. No. No. No. She shook her head frantically. She needed to get down. What was she doing? She couldn't be here. She couldn't climb this.

Sounds were muffled by the thump of her own heartbeat, which echoed loudly through her ears. She clamped her eyelids together even more tightly, afraid to open them and see the ground so far away again. She could hear people shouting to her – she thought she heard Ray encouraging her from above, and she could have sworn she heard Oliver yell her name in a way that sounded like concern. She thought she heard some kind of commotion or movement below her, but it was probably just the conglomeration of camera people rushing to zoom and capture her at her weakest.

How long she held onto the pegs paralyzed in fear, with her eyes closed, trying to control her erratic breathing and heart rate, she had no idea. It could have been a couple minutes, but it felt like hours.

She only opened her eyes when she heard a familiar voice, a voice that sounded like honey and whiskey, say her name.

If she hadn't had a death grip on the small wooden pegs protruding out of the wooden structure, she probably would have fallen just from surprise. Oliver Queen was right next to her, looking at her with a mixture of worry and determination.

"Oliver?"

Using only one arm to secure himself into place by gripping a nearby rope, Oliver reached over with his other hand to smooth back a piece of hair that had escaped from her ponytail and was flopping across her face. He tucked it behind the strap of her helmet. "We'll climb the rest together."

Felicity shook her head frantically. "I can't. I'll fall."

He touched her chin and forced her to look straight at him. Whatever he saw on her face made him pause. He nodded slightly.

"Ok," he conceded. "But what about one more peg? Just one more, then we'll talk about giving up." Felicity took a deep breath and tried to stop the tremors in her arms. Maybe she could climb one more peg. It wouldn't be that different, right? Sensing her hesitation, he added, "I'll be right here."

Steeling her resolve again, she took another shuddered breath, and nodded. "One more," she confirmed in a trembling voice. Taking her eyes away from him, she looked above her to find the next rung she would need to grab.

Despite her shaking hands and pounding heart, she reached for it and wrapped her hand around it. Her foot found a stronghold next, and she hoisted herself up, advancing about a foot upward in total. She looked back to her left to see Oliver easily bring himself up to her level again. He was grinning proudly at her, and the sight eased a little of her tension.

"What next?" she wondered aloud in a breathy voice, her trembling slowing as she settled back into place against the wall.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "You tell me. Are you quitting, or do you want to try one more?"

Felicity bit her lip. She didn't want to quit, but it was so high up …

"Hurry up! Slade's almost at the top!" Ray called from the top. Felicity watched as Oliver frowned up at Ray, then looked back to her.

"Don't listen to him," Oliver ground out. "You can take however long you want."

Hearing Ray had jolted Felicity though. It had reminded her that she was on television. If she gave up, what kind of message would that send? Not just about her company, but about her? She closed her eyes once more to try to blink away the memories that were assaulting her, and took a deep breath. When she opened them, she looked right at Oliver.

"Let's keep going."

If she thought he was grinning before, the smile he gave her was practically blinding. He looked at her, something in his eyes seeming almost soft, and then nodded in agreement.

True to his word, they climbed the rest together. Oliver always let her pull herself up first, then would easily rise up to the pegs next to her only moments after. She climbed steadily, focusing on just making it another step up. After the first few movements and words of encouragement from Oliver, she felt her breathing relax and her shaking subside.

She was doing it. She could do it.

When she got close to the top, Ray (who had been cheering loudly as they climbed) reached his hand down to help pull her up. She grabbed onto it and felt Oliver's hand settle on her back to keep her steady as Ray lifted her to the top of the platform.

When her feet hit the solid ground – albeit 50 feet in the air – the strangest feeling of euphoria hit her. She had just climbed a 50 foot high wall! She looked outward and saw light filtering through the nearby tree limbs. A few birds were perched watching them on nearby trees. It was beautiful. She clapped her hands together and laughed excitedly, spinning around to see Oliver pulling himself to the top of the platform.

"Slade's team is only a couple minutes ahead of us," Ray informed them. "We can still catch them!" Some cameras that had been rigged to nearby branches along the way swiveled to look in their direction.

Both Ray and Oliver looked to Felicity, waiting for her lead.

"Well, ok then. Let's go!" she cheered.

The rest of the obstacle course was much easier for her. After getting over the initial fear of climbing to this height, she found running across treetop bridges to be so simple that it was almost fun.

As her team made their way around the course, they were stopped at a few checkpoints and had tasks to complete. One was a maze of ropes they had to untangle in order to unblock their own path and one was a swinging from platform to platform by a hanging rope. Felicity was surprised that her little team was working so well together. She hadn't known what to expect out of this activity from both of these men, but they were both exceeding any expectations she might have had. The awkward, bumbling Ray was astonishingly agile and competitive at each of the tasks, and the big, bulky Oliver amazed her with his panther-like grace as he navigated the course. Not only that, but they were working together and were following her lead. Despite Ray's earlier comments, Felicity was happy that he was treating her like a valuable member of the team.

When they came to the last obstacle, they were excited to see they had caught up with Slade, Barry, and Cooper. The other team was struggling to complete a puzzle that would unlock a chain that was tethering a zip-line to the nearest tree limb. Once it was unlocked, they'd be able to sail back down to the ground – and she'd have to spend her lunch with them.

Spending her entire lunch time with Slade was not appealing.

"It's a puzzle," Felicity called excitedly as they approached.

The two men on her team crowded around her to see. The puzzle was large and on a platform that extended out beyond the main landing. Each piece was a large rock that was carved into a certain shape.

Felicity immediately assembled the puzzle in her mind and rushed forward to what she knew was the first piece. It needed to go in the far right corner. She reached the large rock and began to push.

It didn't budge.

 _Fuck_ that was heavy.

"Felicity, do you know where these pieces go?" Oliver asked, looking amazed. Ray was scratching the back of his neck in confusion.

Felicity blushed and shrugged. "I mean… assuming none of the rocks have been eroded in a way that would change their shape enough for them to fit in multiple places, it really is pretty simple."

Ray pumped his hand in the air in triumph and Oliver barked out a laugh as he approached and grabbed onto the rock she was leaning against. "Tell us where they go and we'll move them."

They worked that way for a couple minutes. Felicity finding the rock they needed and one of the men quickly picking it up and moving it into place. As she worked, Felicity tried to block out the sound of the other team, who she knew had to be close to finishing by this point.

She did, however, hear Slade yelling a couple times.

"Uh, Slade, I think that one needs to go – " she heard Barry begin.

"Shut it, Allen!" Slade snapped.

Whatever was going on on their side didn't sound pleasant.

A few minutes later, Felicity held her breath as Oliver snapped the last rock perfectly into place. They looked up when they heard a soft "clink" and saw the padlock harnessing the zip line hangers dangling open.

Ray cheered. "Go go go! We just have to get to the bottom!"

They rushed to where the zip line was. Oliver reached up to grab a hanging glider and handed it over to her. "Are you ok?" he asked seriously, looking from the sharp drop in front of them to her.

Felicity bit her lip and nodded. She could do this.

With Oliver on her right and Ray on her left, they counted to three and then pushed off the platforms. Felicity shrieked in exhilaration as she glided smoothly through the air, wind whipping against her face. Only moments later, her line slowed to a stop and she was able to hop to the ground easily.

Malcolm and a swarm of cameras were there to catch the moment.

They'd won!

Felicity laughed and cheered, hugging both men who had been on her winning team.

She could hear Slade yelling something angrily from the top of the platform. Thank God she wouldn't be spending her lunch time with him.

. . .

For lunch, Felicity, Oliver, and Ray got to eat inside a beautiful cabin restaurant that the show had rented out for them. The meal was delicious and Felicity was having fun talking to both of them. With Oliver, that didn't surprise her. She'd known since she first met him that he was someone she liked spending time with. Ray had surprised her today by showing her there was more to him than his social awkwardness.

Towards the end of the meal, Oliver was called away to do his "diary room" session with the producers. During this time, Felicity knew from experience that they would probably ask him invasive questions about how he was feeling at different points during the day today and try to goad him into saying specific soundbites for them.

When he left, Felicity was seated at the table with just Ray.

"So that was a lot of fun today," Felicity started, trying to keep any awkward silence from developing.

Ray nodded. "I totally agree. I was so happy to be on a team with you and Oliver. I just knew we'd win."

Felicity took a sip of her water and smiled. "We did make a pretty good team, didn't we?"

"I was just happy to not be on Slade's team. I knew they'd make sure Slade and Oliver were separated, but I was worried I'd end up with Slade." Ray took a bite of the cake in front of him.

Felicity regarded him curiously. "What do you mean you knew they'd separate Oliver and Slade?" she probed.

Ray shrugged. "You know, because they don't get along."

"They don't?" Felicity could have guessed as much based on the weird interaction between the two before her first date with Oliver and how she'd seen Oliver shove Slade just earlier today. Something told her Ray knew a lot more about the situation, and she wanted to know.

Ray laughed. "Oh no! Not at all. Didn't they tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Ray shook his head and grinned like he was about to reveal some very entertaining information. "Oliver and Slade got into a fight the other day. I don't know what was said, but I know Slade was pushing Oliver's buttons and when Oliver told him to go to hell, Slade punched him right in the eye!"

Felicity felt her hands ball up under the table. So that was why Oliver had that bruise under his eye. Slade had hit him. "What happened then?" She prodded. "Why was Slade allowed to stay?"

Ray leaned in and lowered his voice. "That big security guard, Diggle I think, stepped in and held Oliver back. Slade was led away to the producers' tent. We all thought they were sending him home, but a few hours later he showed back up like nothing had happened. Oliver earned himself a nice warning from Amanda herself though. She told him if he went after Slade in retaliation, he'd be sent home."

Felicity's blood was boiling. She didn't have to know what Slade said to know that whatever it was must have been pretty bad if it got Oliver that riled up. The thought that Amanda had let him stay and then warned _Oliver_ instead was just further proof that Amanda cared more about her precious ratings than anything else.

Ray shoved another bite of cake in his mouth. "Yeah, so understandably, I didn't really want to be on Slade's team today because not only am I pretty positive that he's on steroids, but I'm also pretty sure he's sleeping with someone in production who ensures he stays."

"CUT!" Amanda emerged from behind some plants with an unhappy look on her face. "Palmer. Diary room. Now!"

Ray got up with a sheepish grimace and followed her out of the room. Felicity sat at the table by herself mulling over what Ray had said. So Slade was supposedly on some kind of steroids? That could explain his occasionally moodiness and aggressive behavior. But what exactly did Slade have against Oliver? Even since the first week it had been obvious to her that there was something going on between them. Was it just a simple clash of personalities, or was there more to it?

Before she could wander along that train of thought, Oliver re-joined her at the table. Instead of sitting across from her in the empty space Ray had vacated, Oliver scooted into the booth right next to her. Felicity didn't mind. He smelled nice and his proximity made her skin buzz pleasantly. If she hadn't heard Amanda whisper "action," she probably would have forgotten the cameras. Again.

"How was your diary room session?" she teased.

He smirked. "The same as usual. I talked about how out of my league you are."

Felicity bit back a smile and rolled her eyes to let him know how crazy she thought that sounded.

"They asked me what I thought about you climbing that wall today," he said, looking at her carefully.

Felicity met his eyes. "And you told them it would have been faster if Ray had just carried me like he offered?" she guessed.

He barked out a laugh, his eyes crinkling a bit at the corner. Then he got serious again and shook his head. "No. I told them it was one of the bravest things I've ever seen."

Felicity scoffed. "Yeah. So brave to get stuck on a wall because you're afraid of heights," she joked.

"Hey," Oliver turned her face towards him gently with his index finger against her chin. "It was brave because you were scared and you did it anyway. You were amazing."

Felicity's face heated at the compliment. "Do you want to know why I'm scared of heights?"

He raised his eyebrows in answer.

She swallowed. She didn't usually tell people this story, but there was something about him that made her feel compelled to share it. Something in her wanted him to know everything.

"I fell out of a tree when I was younger."

Oliver smiled a little, but didn't say anything. She went on. "My mom had just left for work, and my dad was supposed to be spending the day with me. Right after she left, he pulled a suitcase out of the closet and packed it in his car. He told me he'd be right back."

Felicity sucked in a breath. Staring over his shoulder, her eyes clouded over with the memory. How her father had ruffled her hair when he walked past her. How he'd kissed her nose and hugged her and promised to be back soon. How he hadn't come back.

"Felicity," Oliver whispered, bringing her back to the present. "What happened next?"

She focused her eyes on his. "I climbed the tree in front of our apartment building so I could watch for his car to come back. I was up there for a while, and at one point, I dropped my teddy bear. When I reached down to get it, I fell all the way out of the tree."

Oliver must have seen her distress on her face, because he started to rub his hand up and down her forearm soothingly. "Did you break anything?"

Felicity laughed bitterly. "I broke an arm and an ankle. I remember the pain, but not specifically. Just that I haven't felt pain like that since."

Oliver nodded. "Well I'm glad you made it through today without any bumps or scrapes."

Felicity tried to smile at his attempt to lighten her mood, but her mind was somewhere else. She'd opened the floodgates, and now she wanted to tell him the darkest part of the memory. The part no one knew. The part she'd probably kick herself for revealing on TV. He must have been able to tell there was more because he stilled and got serious again. "Felicity, what else happened?" His voice was low, like he wasn't sure he wanted to know the rest. "You looked like you had seen a ghost when you were climbing the wall."

Felicity huffed a bitter laugh. "In a way I did I guess. That day, that I fell out of the tree, that was the last time I ever saw my father." Her vision started to blur, and she swiped at her eyes frantically to rid the stupid tears that were building up. Her throat burned with the need to cry, but she ignored it. "He never came back. When I fell down, I laid in the yard crying for two hours before a neighbor found me and called my mom. It's been almost 18 years, and I haven't heard a word from him." She sucked in a breath, her voice wobbling. "Ever since then, I've hated being up high, for any reason. When I was on that wall today, I just kept thinking about that day. I know it's stupid and it's been a long time so I don't know why I'm still upset. I just - "

He cut her off by reaching over and pulling her into a tight hug. The way the booth was situated made it difficult for him to give her a full hug, but he was able to move enough to fully wrap both arms around her and pull her to him. She let her own arms wrap around him. The smell of his cologne and the heat from his body created a warm cloak around her. It was comforting, and being close to him helped ease the ache that had sprung up in her from dredging up the painful memories.

Her breath stuttered a bit as she buried her face in his shoulder and let herself get lost in the way it felt to have his large arms wrapped around her back. She felt his lips pressed against her hair.

"Felicity," he murmured, "it's his loss. And he sounds like a dick."

Felicity snorted and smiled against him. She pulled her head back so she could look at him. "Thanks. Sorry. That was kind of a heavy story for a second date."

Oliver reached one hand up to wipe his thumb gently below her eye to catch one tear that had leaked out while his other arm stayed wrapped securely around her waist.

"It's fine," he said softly.

Felicity reached up to gently rub her fingertips over the fading purple beneath his eye. His eyes fluttered shut at the contact, and when he opened them again, there was an unreadable expression there.

"Oliver, what happened to your eye? Ray said it had something to do with Slade." She asked it quietly, not wanting to spoil the tender moment they were sharing, but also needing to know what was going on between the two men.

Oliver stiffened slightly, his eyes darting away from hers.

"It's nothing I can't handle."

Felicity pursed her lips. "I don't doubt that. But I think I deserve to know what's going on. Amanda keeps saying I should invite him on my next one-on-one date - "

"Don't," he interrupted, his eyes jerking back to hers quickly. She raised her eyebrows. He sighed and pulled her a little closer with the arm that still sat securely around her. He rested his forehead against hers for a moment before pulling back to look at her and speak again. "I don't… There's something off about Slade. The things he says and the way he acts … I don't want to tell you what to do, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone with him."

Puzzled, she searched his eyes while tracing his bruise again. "You know I'm never _really_ alone, right? Even right now, it feels like we're alone but there are at least three cameramen filming everything we do," she whispered. As if to emphasize the point, they heard the loud buzz of a camera zooming in. She smiled at him conspiratorially. He didn't smile.

"I'm serious, Felicity."

She leaned her head in again to rest her forehead against his. "Me too. But I don't want to take him on a date anyway. If I'm allowed, I'll ask you."

"Yeah?" He smiled.

"Mm-hmm," she confirmed. They were close enough to be breathing the same air, and all at once, that wasn't enough. She closed the gap between them, and he met her lips eagerly. They kissed slowly, and Felicity reveled in the lightheaded feeling from their first kiss that returned when his lips pressed against hers. He pulled her impossibly closer in the confined space of the booth, and she even hitched her left leg over his right thigh slightly to be angled closer to him.

His arm wondered up her back while the other rested against her neck. Her hands were sandwiched between them, lying on his broad chest. The feel of his hands and his lips was enough to overload her senses. He pulled her bottom lip between his own, and she responded by opening her mouth slightly and winding one hand up to fist in his hair. He let out a breath when she did, and she took the chance to run her tongue along his bottom lip.

His response was immediate. His arm around her tightened and his tongue invaded her mouth. She gasped, returning his kiss with an urgency she had never felt before. It was as if the world began and ended with him. Everything she smelled, felt, heard, tasted – it was all him and it was invigorating.

A throat cleared loudly, and Felicity jumped in surprise. She pulled away from Oliver and saw Ray staring at them from the end of the table. Her face burned as she awkwardly shifted away from Oliver and into her own space in the booth. Ray had to choose _now_ to show back up? Oliver removed his hand from her back, and she saw him move it to grip his own knee tightly. At least he seemed as irritated at being interrupted as she felt.

"So," Ray began, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm finished with my diary room session."

Felicity attempted a polite smile, but it probably looked all wrong because emotionally she was somewhere between wanting to shove Ray back _in_ to the diary room and wanting to take Oliver somewhere off camera to continue kissing him.

Logically, she knew it was probably a good thing Ray had shown up because when she had been kissing Oliver, she had been totally oblivious to everything else going on. She'd forgotten about the cameras, the procedures, and the fact that everything she did was going to be shown on national television when this process was over. She probably owed Ray for interrupting before things had gotten more heated and she'd done something she'd regret.

Despite that, she couldn't help but resent him a bit. Kissing Oliver was turning out to be the only time she felt totally free and unaware of the pressure to represent herself and her company well. Being close to Oliver and letting his presence overwhelm her thoughts was the only time these days she felt like _herself_.

What was that man doing to her?


	4. Mid-Season Drama

**A/N:** I hope you all are enjoying the holidays!

 **Chapter 4: Mid-Season Drama**

Weeks into the whole 'reality show' thing and Felicity was still having trouble following the rules. Being the founder and CEO of her own company, she wasn't used to having people tell her what to do. Felicity had assumed when she signed on that being "the bachelorette" would mean she had a certain level of control over the types of dates she'd go on, which men stayed and which went home, and even what types of things she talked about in her personal interviews.

She had been wrong.

Amanda Waller, the high-powered producer, had taken it upon herself to begin controlling almost every moment of Felicity's on-screen life. She dictated what Felicity wore, she fed her questions and lines to say in her interviews, and she even handed Felicity a short list of men every week that were required by production to be given a rose at the Rose Ceremony.

Some of it wasn't too bad. At least the outfits that were chosen for Felicity were mostly cute. What they wanted her to talk about in her interviews rarely went against what she was actually thinking and feeling.

Where she had a problem though was being told she had to keep men around that not only made her feel uncomfortable, but also had issues with other men in the house. Namely: Slade Wilson.

On her group date last week, Ray had told her that Slade had punched Oliver in the face. Oliver had downplayed it, but she could tell he wasn't as unconcerned about Slade as he let on because he practically choked when she told him Amanda wanted her to take Slade on a one-on-one date. Week after week though, Slade was on her list of men she must give a rose to. Felicity assumed the producers were setting him up to cause a scene soon, and she was not looking forward to it.

This week, she'd somehow managed to limit Slade to just another group date despite Amanda's push for more one-on-one time between them.

Today she was going to be taking four men on a group date. Oliver was the first one she chose – having been told she still wasn't allowed to give him another single date no matter how much she wanted to. On their last group date, she'd shared a personal moment with him that made her feel closer to him than anyone else in the house. And he was a great kisser on top of that.

Tommy Merlyn was the second. Felicity had been on a one-on-one date with Tommy the week before. That date had been enough to prove to Felicity that all there would ever be between her and Tommy was friendship, but Amanda had warned her that she needed to put on a show of liking more than one man for the cameras.

The third man on the date today was Barry Allen – another man who she liked, but she wasn't sure there would be anything beyond friendship between them.

And Lastly, she was basically being forced to include Slade Wilson.

The date began with them all watching some new movie that was coming out about an underground fighter. Felicity was happy about this because she could just sit and watch the movie without worrying about balancing time between the four men on the date.

The movie had gone as planned. She'd been seated between Oliver and Tommy, so she'd been able to really relax. When she'd run out of popcorn, Oliver had let her reach absently into his popcorn bucket and eat the rest of his. Slade was sitting on the other side of Tommy and kept taking out his phone to check the time – which Felicity found really annoying. The movie overall was decent. Nowhere near her favorite, but good enough to spend a couple hours watching without regrets.

After, they were supposed to go to a local gym where a trainer was going to teach them how to box and the men were going to have a mini-tournament at the end of the day. Amanda refused to tell her what the prize was, so Felicity was going to be as surprised as the men. She assumed it would have to do with extra one-on-one time between her and the winner.

When they arrived at the gym, Felicity was ushered into a locker room that had been converted into a dressing room to change and have her makeup touched up. While she changed, Amanda entered with a clipboard.

"Ok," Amanda began. "Some things I need you to keep in mind. First, you'll be participating in the boxing training, but I need you to be careful not to sprain your ankle or anything stupid like that. I can't afford to halt production while you heal."

Felicity gave a strained smile and nodded, hoping her irritation wasn't showing on her face.

"Next," Amanda went on, "We need you to ask each of the guys about Slade during your one-on-one time."

"Why?" Felicity pulled her hair up into a ponytail while she waited for the explanation.

Amanda looked at her like she would look at a child. "Because," she said slowly, "Slade is currently the only one giving us drama. Barry is going to bore the audience to tears. Tommy is more interesting, but everyone likes him. He doesn't cause problems. How am I supposed to make a show when I have people like this to work with?"

Felicity gritted her teeth. "Is that why you let Slade stay after he hit Oliver? Because it's drama for your show?"

"Don't get me started on Oliver," Amanda warned. "He's already been reminded to step up his hot and sexy game if he wants to stay. It's like he thinks the 'heartthrob' of the season title will just be handed to him even though he's not taking his shirt off."

Felicity blinked. What?

"And I haven't forgotten how you weaseled out of asking him about his mother a few weeks ago. Lucky for you, we're going with the Slade angle for now. We'll address Oliver's mommy issues on hometowns in a couple weeks."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Felicity questioned.

Amanda ignored her, her eyes zoned out and her hand pressed to her ear – obviously listening to someone on her earpiece. Amanda looked up at Felicity and muttered a quick, "I'll see you out there," before disappearing out of the dressing room.

Felicity sighed. Maybe Amanda hadn't meant anything by it. Many of the men here were attractive, but Oliver was probably the one who hit the 'heartthrob' notes the most with his strong jaw, big muscles, and gorgeous eyes. Just because that was the angle the producers were playing with Oliver didn't mean Oliver had anything to do with it. It didn't mean Oliver was putting on any sort of front for the show.

Right?

Her mind flashed back to the kisses they'd shared so far. Each of them had been in front of the camera, but that didn't mean anything. Both kisses had been more steamy than any other kiss she'd had on the show. She'd shared an awkward peck with Barry on their one-on-one date, and she'd felt like she was kissing her brother on her date with Tommy. Neither kiss had felt even close to what it felt like to kiss Oliver.

But that was because it was _Oliver_ , not because he was playing anything up for the cameras. She felt that deep in her bones, and she was usually a good judge of character. The way he made her feel… he couldn't be doing anything to fake that kind of chemistry.

But could he be faking wanting to kiss her at all?

Shaking her head, she pushed that thought out of her mind. Yes Oliver was gorgeous and intelligent and funny and totally the type of guy who would never have gone for her outside of this show. But that meant nothing. She was getting to know him pretty well, and he wasn't the type to lead her on for attention.

Unless Amanda was forcing him the way she was forcing Felicity to keep Slade by threatening to ruin her reputation when editing the show?

 _No._

Felicity massaged her temples in an attempt to clear the unsettling idea.

"Felicity?" A PA called through the door. "We're ready for you."

With a sigh, Felicity pushed her worries to the back of her mind. As she'd been reminded over and over, she had to be happy and excited on camera or she would look "like a boring, wet blanket" as Amanda had so kindly put it.

She followed the PA through a couple hallways and into the main room of the gym where there were extra lights set up to make it more suitable for filming. There were mats on the floor and a few punching bags strung up along the far wall. The men were already there – all wearing different colors of the same athletic shorts and Under Armor sleeveless shirts. No doubt that was Amanda's idea too. She loved coordinated outfits.

Felicity watched them all for a minute – noticing the way Tommy Merlyn was carrying the conversation and making Barry Allen laugh. Oliver seemed tense and looked like was having trouble focusing on the jokes Tommy was telling, and Felicity saw Oliver glance over Tommy's shoulder a few times. She followed his gaze and saw Slade using his pre-filming time to bench press an obscene amount of weight.

"Places!" Amanda called.

Felicity hurried over to her place among the men who all greeted her with hugs. Slade stopped pumping iron and joined them. She tried not to recoil when he hugged her and she could feel his sweaty arms around her back.

Malcolm entered and did his traditional bit of explaining the activity while the camera people recorded some close ups of Felicity and the four men. He introduced some Hollywood trainer who was supposedly famous for helping celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé lose baby weight and get in shape fast. Felicity had never heard of him though – but that was probably because she didn't usually have a lot of time to stay up to date with pop culture like that. Malcolm said the man's name was Ted Grant.

Felicity wondered how much Ted Grant had paid to be featured on this show.

Malcolm stopped talking and motioned for them all to step up to various punching bags. Felicity did as she was told and made her way over to a large red punching bag that was hanging from the ceiling. She watched as Slade was positioned at the punching bag to her left, and Oliver was placed at the punching bag to her right. No doubt on purpose. Felicity just hoped the punching would be limited to the bags.

"Ok everyone," Ted the Trainer began, "put on your boxing gloves and face your bags. We're going to begin today with some simple jabs, and then we'll learn some defensive and offensive combinations."

Felicity stuffed her hands into the bulky, padded boxing gloves. She'd done a kickboxing class once with a friend in college. Maybe this would be similar?

Ted stood at the bag in front of all of them so he could show them the technique. "Alright. When throwing a jab, you want to turn your whole body into the punch. Breathe out as you hit the bag, and make sure you're hitting in short, quick bursts." Ted punched his bag a few times as an example. "I'll be around to watch your form, so go ahead and get started."

Felicity planted her feet and squared her shoulders like Ted had shown them, then threw her first punch. The bag moved slightly with the impact of her hit. The boxing glove dulled the pressure of the hit enough that it wasn't painful on her hand, but she could feel muscles all over her body waking up at the motion. She hit the bag again, repeating the motion and letting herself fall into a pattern. She could hear the dull _thuds_ and slight squeak of the punching bags around her as the men did the same.

Slade especially seemed to be putting a lot of effort in. Felicity glanced to the side when she heard him grunting with every punch. Her mouth fell open slightly when she saw his punching bag basically swinging from side to side every time he hit it.

"Slade!" Ted called from the other side of the gym. "Settle down! We're only practicing jabs right now!"

"Sure thing, boss!" Slade called gruffly, stopping to take a swig from his water bottle.

Something seemed off about him today. More so than usual. It looked like his eye was twitching and his hand was shaking a little as he titled his water bottle up. Some of the water splashed over his chin, and he wiped it off with the back of his hand before reaching to pick up his boxing gloves.

"See something you like, sweetheart?" Slade said, catching her staring. Felicity laughed awkwardly and turned back to her punching bag before Slade could see her face turn a shade pinker from embarrassment. "What about you, pretty boy? What are you looking at?"

Felicity looked up again and saw Slade had directed his comment at Oliver. She looked to her other side to see Oliver was, in fact, staring at Slade. His boxing glove covered hands rested against his punching bag to keep it in place, and his muscles looked tense. Almost like he was waiting for a fight to start.

"Nothing," Oliver replied coolly.

"Well look at nothing somewhere else," Slade growled, tossing his water bottle to the ground. The lid popped off and water started spilling all over the mat. Slade didn't seemed bothered though, and a production assistant quickly rushed in to clean up the mess.

Oliver's eyes flashed angrily, and Felicity could tell he was barely keeping himself in check. Something had him more on edge than she'd ever seen him. He had seemed pretty relaxed at the movie theater. Whatever had riled him up must have happened before she came out from her dressing room.

"Uhh… let's just focus on our punching," Felicity said. "Of our punching bags! Punching our punching bags! Nothing else."

Begrudgingly, Oliver and Slade both did as she said and went back to their boxing practice. Ted came around to give each of them pointers on their technique, then had the whole group begin practicing some combination moves.

After another 15 minutes or so, Felicity was starting to feel tired. Her hair was falling out of her ponytail and making a mess around her face and she could feel small beads of sweat dripping down her temples and back.

"Ok, last move!" Ted called. "It's a high kick. Face sideways and lift your leg so that the flat top of your foot hits against the bag." Ted repeated the motion a few times for them to watch, then told them to try it.

Felicity did as she was told, centering herself to make sure she was balanced and then lifted her right leg up to kick into the punching bag. The bag shifted slightly at the impact, and Felicity smiled proudly. She was kicking ass today and she knew it!

"Here, let me help you," an Australian voice came from behind her. Felicity jumped slightly and whipped around to see Slade staring at her with a smirk.

"I think I got it. It's not too hard." Felicity forced a smiled, trying to cover her annoyance.

"No," Slade insisted, stepping so that he was behind her punching bag and holding it in place. "You could get more force behind your kick. I'll show you." He patted the bag. "Here, kick again."

Felicity looked around helplessly. It looked like Oliver and Tommy had both been pulled to the opposite side of the room for a quick interview, and Barry was very engaged a few punching bags over with his punches and kicks. A few cameramen circled where she and Slade were, clearly excited to catch whatever crazy stunt Slade was about to pull.

She sighed. She really didn't feel like giving Slade any of her time, but what was she supposed to do? The last thing she needed was to come off as rude or unkind when this was all over.

Slade patted the punching bag again, signaling he was ready for her. She took a deep breath, balanced her weight, and kicked her leg up at the bag again.

"See?" Slade began. "You don't have your full weight behind it, and you're not pointing your toes enough."

Felicity bit her tongue. _Don't be mean. Don't be mean,_ she repeated to herself to keep her irritated comments to herself.

"What you need to do is swing your hips a little more and point your foot at far as it will go. You'll increase the impact on your target that way." Slade gave her a smug smile and made a motion with his hands that indicated he wanted her to try it.

Felicity plastered a smile on her face for the cameras, but she was sure her face showed her annoyance anyway. Her mom had always said she was bad at hiding her feelings.

She steadied herself back in place, then did what Slade instructed. She kicked her leg up towards the bag but rotated slightly to get more momentum. She pointed her foot as far as it could go, and she could feel the increased impact of her leg and foot on the punching bag.

Before she could realize what had happened, Slade had grabbed her ankle and was holding it against the punching bag. She squeaked in surprise and hopped slightly to maintain her balance – tipping forward a little to steady herself with her arms on the front of the punching bag.

"What are you doing?" She said with a frown, trying to dislodge her foot from his grasp.

"Patience, pretty Felicity. I'll show you."

Slade shifted his hands so that one of them was securing her ankle against the bag and the other one rested lightly on her calf. "This muscle here, " he began, his voice low and husky in a way that was probably supposed to be alluring, "is the one you want to build up so that when you kick your enemy, it's with the maximum amount of force."

Felicity gave him a tight smile and tried to move her foot from his grasp. He didn't budge. She hopped again to readjust her weight, her forced smile falling and her eyes narrowing.

"There are a few exercises you can do every day to build up these muscles," Slade continued. He lifted his hand on her calf so that only his fingertips were touching her. He dragged them upwards towards the back side of her knee. Felicity felt her stomach drop, and her skin tingled uncomfortably where his hand had touched. "Maybe I can show you some of the exercises later." He raised his eyebrows suggestively and looked at her.

Felicity clenched her jaw. "Maybe. Let me go now please."

Slade smiled, but the smile looked empty and emotionless. He didn't release her foot. Felicity looked to her side and saw the cameraman zooming in and rotating to get a better angle on the exchange. Really? The crew was just going to watch Slade grope her leg and not make him stop? A chill tingled up her spine and her shoulders tensed as she directed her attention back to Slade.

"Slade seriously. Let me go. I don't like standing on one foot." She was sure she didn't sound nice or happy this time. Oh well. If she had to come across like a bitch on TV in order to get the creep to stop touching her and creating an awkward situation, then she would what she had to do.

Slade ignored her and started stroking his fingertips along the backside of her calf again. "Your skin is so soft and beautiful."

Her veins lit with anger and her jaw clenched even tighter – if that was possible.

"I wonder if all of your skin is like this?" He looked up at her again, his hand still trailing up her leg. It skimmed over the back of her knee and started slowly up the back of her thigh.

"Stop," she said angrily. She reached out to bat his hand away from her leg with her boxing-glove clad hand while trying to yank her leg from his grasp.

Slade simply readjusted his grip. "Feisty." He smirked.

"What the hell is going on here?" came a familiar voice. Felicity's head snapped to the side to see Tommy and Oliver approaching. Oliver was slightly behind Tommy, and Tommy's hand was extended out and backwards a bit, as if to keep Oliver back. Both men looked less than amused by the scene they were witnessing, but while Tommy looked offended and confused, Oliver looked ready to commit murder.

"Mind your own business, Merlyn," Slade growled.

"No, because I just heard her tell you to let her go – _more than once_ – and yet you're still holding her leg," Tommy bit back.

Felicity used the distraction to her advantage and jammed her boxing-glove covered hand down on top of Slade's to dislodge it from her leg. Taken off guard, he swore and dropped her, and she stumbled slightly as she regained her balance on both feet. She glared at Slade.

"Bitch!" Slade spat, rubbing his wrist. Felicity's face twisted in disgust and irritation, and she saw Oliver step forward out of the corner of her eye.

She turned just in time to see Tommy stopping Oliver by placing both hands on his friend's shoulders and whispering a hurried, "Don't!"

"That's right Queen. Listen to your little sidekick," Slade taunted.

"Stop it, Slade," Felicity snapped, stepping towards Oliver and Tommy. Oliver's eyes were trained on Slade, and there was a fire in them she hadn't seen from Oliver before. It worried her.

Slade laughed darkly, his eyes traveling the length of her body and stirring the anger in her veins even more. "Bossy. I see why Queen likes you now. Does he even call you 'mommy' when he's fu-"

"Shut your fucking mouth," Oliver growled, shoving Tommy's hands away and easily maneuvering around his friend.

Felicity hurried to step into his path, blocking him from getting to Slade – who was laughing even more now. "Oliver," she whispered, planting her hands on his chest. "Let's just go." He was tense and glaring at Slade, but he stopped moving when she touched him. "Come on. He's not worth it."

Oliver stopped concentrating on Slade and turned his head slightly to meet her eyes. She could see the conflict in them. His eyes were blazing with anger and she could feel his need to let it out buzzing beneath his skin. She just looked at him, silently imploring him to let it go and walk away with her. The very last thing she wanted was for him to do something that would possibly damage his reputation when the show was over or would result in Amanda sending him home.

She needed him here.

He stared at her a moment longer. She could tell when he made up his bind because his jaw clenched even tighter and he nodded slightly. He reached for her hand, and she took it. He turned and began leading her towards a back exit, and she followed easily – blocking out Slade's maniacal laughter and the sound of the cameras rushing to detach themselves so they could follow.

"We're taking a break and doing one-on-one time," Felicity said firmly as they walked past Amanda – who was watching them with a pleased smile and bright eyes.

Amanda put her hands up in defeat. "Go right ahead. I've got enough to work with for now. We'll pick up the boxing lessons after the one-on-one meetings."

Oliver didn't even hesitate as Amanda spoke. He just kept pulling her towards the "exit" sign at the back of the building. When they got there, he pushed the door open and ushered her through ahead of him.

Felicity stepped outside into an alleyway that she assumed was behind the building. The temperature change caused goosebumps to erupt on her skin as she adjusted from the cool air conditioning to the warm embrace of the soft sunlight of the day. Oliver came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder, prompting her to turn to face him.

"Are you ok?" he asked in a low voice.

"I'm fine, Oliver." She watched his reaction, noticing that getting out of the building and away from Slade seemed to have loosened some of the tension in his shoulders, but his jaw was still clenched in residual anger. "Are you ok?"

"Slade shouldn't be here," he responded, running a hand through his hair. "He's unpredictable. The things he says? He shouldn't be allowed within one hundred feet of you."

Felicity felt her stomach drop a little. What was he saying? Was Amanda making her look like a fool by forcing her to keep Slade even though he was saying terrible things about her behind her back? "Why? What is he saying?"

Oliver gave her a look that said he'd rather chew off his own arm than repeat whatever it was Slade had been saying.

"I deserve to know," she demanded, crossing her arms. "This whole time I've been keeping him around and no one will tell me why or what's going on with him. I'd rather know now than go home and watch it on TV with everyone else in America."

Oliver huffed in frustration and motioned for her to sit down on the bench against the wall next to them. She did as he asked and he sat down next to her. She watched him carefully, waiting for him to tell her why he was so worked up over Slade. He didn't say anything right away; instead, he took one of her hands in his and started tracing the lines on her palm the way he'd done on their first date.

She waited.

Eventually he spoke. "I'll tell you what you want to know, but I don't want to hurt you. I don't know what your time with Slade has been like and if you like him – "

"Oliver," she cut him off sternly. "Trust me, you don't have to worry about me being upset that Slade 'deceived' me or something. The guy is an ass and he's only still here because Amanda keeps forcing me to keep him around. I hate spending time with him because he's creepy and makes everything uncomfortable."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, motioning to the camera over her shoulder. Felicity pursed her lips and shrugged. "They'll edit it out," she said. "Now start at the beginning. You and Slade have never gotten along?"

Oliver ran his free hand over his face and shook his head. "Slade's been taking steroids the whole time he's been here. They make him irritable and irrational, but he's been telling the guys in the house all along that all he wants out of the show is to further his MMA career, so I guess he doesn't care."

Felicity nodded. "Ray mentioned something about that."

"When I saw him touching your leg in there… Felicity he's unpredictable. I don't like thinking of you being alone with him. These dicks with cameras obviously only care about filming something dramatic and aren't willing to step in."

Felicity nodded. "I know." She'd known for a while that Amanda's 'story' was more important than any of their well-beings. Otherwise Slade would have been long gone by now.

Oliver looked back down at her hand where he continued to trace patterns and shapes. "Slade is the type that likes to take out the people he sees as competition. After you chose me for the first date, I think it became his personal mission to 'beat' me." Oliver laughed humorlessly and shook his head. "As if you're some prize to be won."

Felicity knew some of the guys would have that sort of attitude – about this being a game with her as a prize – but hearing Oliver say that _wasn't_ how he thought filled her with a pleasant mixture of pride and hope.

"What happened when he punched you?" she inquired, watching his reaction. He didn't give her much of one. The only indication that he'd even heard her was the corners of his lips turning down slightly.

Then he looked up at her, his hand stilling. "Slade found out some things about me…about my family and my past…that I'm not proud of. I didn't react well when he brought it up, and it escalated."

Oliver didn't say anything else. Felicity knew there was more to that story, but she assumed he was hiding it because he didn't want to tell her yet what Slade had found. Felicity understood what it was like to carry baggage from your past, and she knew how important it was not to be forced to talk about it. Despite that, she couldn't help the small seed of doubt that formed in the back of her mind. She had shared a very painful, personal memory with him last week. Did he not trust her enough to do the same? Even though she'd known him only a short time, she felt connected to him in a way she'd never felt before. She felt like she _wanted_ him to know everything about her. It almost _excited_ her to tell him things she didn't normally tell people. Was that feeling only on her end? Was she totally off in thinking they had something different and special between them?

"Hey." Her face must have reflected her worry, because he reached up to smooth a crease on her forehead. "It wasn't a big deal. I want to tell you about it, but I'd rather do it off camera."

Felicity saw the cameraman shifting positions out of the corner of her eye. She could respect that. She had to. No matter how much her impatience and curiosity was killing her. She nodded to let him know she understood and that she'd wait. He visibly relaxed, moving his hand to run down the length of her arm so he could hold her hand again.

"What about today then? You seemed different after the movie," she probed.

Oliver's voice was deeper and rougher when he answered. "Slade's in rare form today."

"What do you mean?"

Oliver sighed. "He just… I don't like hearing him talk shit about you."

Felicity smiled. "That's sweet Oliver, but I'm a big girl. I can handle it."

Oliver shook his head. "That's not what I mean." She raised her eyebrows, signaling for him to go on. "I know you're tough. Tougher than most of the people here give you credit for. But apparently I'm not."

"Oliver, your arms are twice the size of most of the other men's arms," she joked.

Oliver smiled and shook his head. "No I mean I'm not tough enough to let what he says about you just roll off my back. I've never…I'm usually pretty good at controlling my emotions. But when he says things about your character or makes an inappropriate joke about you? I want to rip his fucking tongue out."

Felicity tilted her head to the side slightly. Studying him. The fire was back in his eyes. "Why?"

His eyes locked with her and waited a moment before speaking. "Because Felicity. You're smart and kind and beautiful. You don't deserve any of the shit he says about you to get attention from the camera. Especially not on TV."

A warm feeling started pooling in her chest at his words and she couldn't help the smile that bloomed on her face. He gave her a small smile in response.

"So…" she started, avoiding his eyes and picking a piece of lint off his shoulder. "Does that mean you like me?" She looked up at him and saw him trying not to smile.

Instead of answering, he nudged her so she'd stand. She did as he asked, then he guided her towards him with his hands on her hips until she was standing right in front of him. He gripped her hips then and pulled her forward so that she was sitting on his lap, straddling his legs. She rested her hands on the side of his neck and gave him an imploring look.

"I'm not sure if this means you like me or that you're just trying to get in my pants," she joked a little breathlessly, flustered by the feeling the heat from his legs on the back of her thighs and feeling his hands holding her steady on her hips.

Oliver chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her nose lightly. "I didn't expect this, you know," he murmured.

"What?"

"You." His eyes met hers then, and there was something in them that she recognized. She'd seen it the first time she'd kissed him. It looked like fear. She reached her hand up and ran it gently over his eyebrow. His eyes fluttered shut and he exhaled. When he opened them again, the strange look was gone. In its place was the intense look she was getting used to – the one that turned her insides into molten lava and made her heart speed up. "Felicity?"

"Yeah?" she breathed.

He lifted one hand from her waist and rested it gently against the side of her neck. "I definitely like you."

Her stomach flipped over happily and she couldn't contain her smile. God this man was turning her into a pile of mush with a couple looks and kind words.

He smiled back, and leaned forward to capture her lips with his own. The kiss started off slow and sweet, but quickly changed into something else. She kissed him hungrily – wanting to be closer, addicted to the taste of his warm lips. His tongue slipped into her mouth effortlessly, and she gasped when his hand on her hip pulled her closer to him so that they were almost flush against one another.

She fisted one hand in the back of his hair and slipped one hand between them to the hem of his shirt. He groaned when she dipped her hand under his shirt and ran it up his abdomen, feeling his muscles ripple and tense beneath her touch. He returned the favor instantly, his hand sneaking up from her hip and crawling under her shirt to feel the smooth skin of her back.

His touch set her skin on fire and his mouth burned. Everything was heat and Oliver. His hand that wasn't in her shirt wound around to cradle the back of her head, anchoring her close to him.

She continued to kiss him, unable to get enough of the soft scratch of his stubble across her lips and chin, of his warm skin gliding under her fingertips, or of his ragged breaths mixing with her own. She scraped her nails lightly through his hair, and was pleased when the action elicited a gasp from him.

As if in retaliation, he tore his mouth from hers and moved his kisses across her cheek and down to her neck. His hand on her back wrapped her impossibly closer to him until there was no space between their bodies, his mouth attaching itself to a sensitive spot on the curve between her neck and shoulder. Pulsing sparks spread through her bloodstream beginning with his mouth, and she shifted so that her hips rolled slightly against his growing erection.

"Oliver," she gasped. He groaned, stilling his lips on her neck and breathing heavily. Much to her dismay, he pulled back from her slowly. "What?"

She must have been frowning because he smiled softly and leaned forward to quickly kiss the corner of her mouth. His pupils were blown and his breathing was as uneven as hers.

"Felicity," he started, his voice gravelly and rough, "we need to stop now unless you want to give the cameras an eyeful."

"Cameras?" She opened her eyes fully, coming out of her Oliver induced haze and remembered that she was on a television show. She glanced over her shoulder and saw there was, indeed, an oversized camera and a technician running it staring back at her. She grimaced. _Great_. She'd been making out with Oliver on national television.

She groaned and leaned forward to bury her face in his shirt. She felt the rumble of his laugh in his chest and the soft pressure of his lips on the top of her head.

Moments later, the cameraman's walkie-talkie sounded with Amanda's shrill voice demanding that they all get back inside ASAP. Disappointed that her alone time with Oliver was ending for the day, she disentangled herself from his lap and stood up. She smoothed out her clothes and watched as he adjusted his shorts slightly to hide any evidence of their encounter.

He reached for her hand and they walked towards the door together. Just before he opened it, he paused and stroked a finger gently down her cheek. "You look cute when your cheeks are pink," he teased.

She bumped him with her shoulder. "They are not pink!"

"They are," he confirmed, a smirk appearing on his sinful lips and his eyes settling on her mouth. "And your hair is falling all over the place and your lips look like they've been kissed. A lot."

Her eyes fell to his lips at his comment. Lips that only minutes ago had been on her, making her forget where she was and what she was doing. She wanted to feel those lips on her again.

"Well, all of that is your fault," she responded.

He grinned, leaned in to kiss her quickly, then opened the door.

Felicity walked back into the dimly lit gym, the air conditioning assaulting her and cooling some of the fire that had still been thrumming just beneath her skin. She felt Oliver's hand on her lower back as he joined her.

"Felicity! Finally!" Amanda called, stomping towards them. "We only have the gym rented for another hour, so we have to cut some of the other one-on-one time."

Felicity shrugged. "That's fine. What's next then? The boxing tournament?"

Amanda pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "Of course not. We need some footage of you and Slade." Oliver tensed next to her, and Felicity noticed Slade across the gym grinning smugly in their direction.

"I don't think so." Felicity shook her head. "Let's just do the boxing tournament."

"No…" Amanda drawled slowly as if she thought Felicity had a brain injury or something. "I said you're going with Slade. There's a nice spot on the roof you two can climb to. It would be a very romantic atmosphere."

"She's not doing one-on-one time with Slade," Oliver said, his voice low.

Amanda narrowed her eyes. "That's not your call, Mr. Queen."

"You're right. It's not. It's Felicity's, and you can't force her to spend time with someone who makes her uncomfortable."

"I damn well can. This is my show," Amanda seethed.

"Well it's my life," Felicity interrupted, the anger that had been building towards Amanda and her manipulation throughout this whole process starting to bubble over. "And I don't want to spend alone time with Slade."

Amanda stepped closer to them menacingly, reaching down to her waist to flip the microphone she was wearing off. "Listen, it seems like you've forgotten who has the power here. I get the final say on everything that goes into this show. I can make you come out of this as America's Sweetheart or as the conniving bitch who toyed with the hearts of good men. It's your choice."

Felicity seethed. _How dare she?_

"Are you threatening her?" Oliver's voice was dangerously low, and she felt his hand slide from her back to her side, pulling her closer to him and squeezing his fingers into her hip a little too tightly.

Amanda whirled on Oliver next. "Don't get me started on you."

"Is there a problem?" Slade said smoothly, approaching the group and wiping his face off with a towel.

"No problem," Felicity assured him sweetly, reaching behind her to rest a hand on Oliver's arm in an attempt to keep him calm. "We're just running low on time, so we're going to have to skip the rest of the one-on-one time."

"What?" Slade responded gruffly, turning his gaze to Amanda. "You said I'd get my time today!"

Amanda shot Felicity an angry glare. "You will. Felicity's mistaken. You two are going up to the roof right now for your time. I might even tell the cameras to give you a few minutes before meeting you up there so you can talk."

"Like hell you will!" Oliver interrupted.

"Mind your own business, Queen," Slade demanded.

"I'm not doing that," Felicity told Amanda, squaring her shoulders.

If looks could kill, Felicity would be six feet under. "Yes, you are," Amanda hissed.

"Let's go Felicity," Slade demanded, reaching for her arm.

Before Felicity could register what was happening, Oliver had roughly shoved Slade's arm away from her and shifted his body so that she was positioned slightly behind him. "Don't touch her," he growled.

Slade's face turned red in anger and Felicity swore she could see steam coming out of his ears. "I see one black eye wasn't enough to knock some sense into you," he warned, his hands forming into fists at his sides.

Oliver ignored Slade and turned his attention to Amanda. "You can't seriously want to let her go anywhere alone with him. Drama for your show is more important to you than her safety?"

"Don't be dramatic," Amanda snapped.

"That's rich coming from you," Slade laughed menacingly. "I'm not blood relatives with a murderer."

Felicity stilled. _What?_

"What did you say to me?" Oliver demanded angrily, stepping forward.

"Oliver, she's going. Felicity, let Bethany touch up your make-up now. We're behind schedule!" Amanda looked as though she was about to crush the clipboard in her hand.

"No!" Oliver and Felicity asserted at the same time. Oliver was tense and still in front of her, his eyes never leaving Slade who was taunting them with a smug smirk. Felicity put her hand on Oliver's back.

"She's not going anywhere with a guy who said he'd rather get forcibly removed for violent behavior than be sent home at a rose ceremony because it would 'promote his brand' if he was seen on television being aggressive," Oliver seethed.

"What?" Felicity yelled, narrowing her eyes at Slade. What an _asshole!_

Slade pointed his finger at Oliver. "You shut your mouth! I never said I'd hit her!"

"You said any woman who wasn't interested in you deserved some 'sense knocked into them,'" Oliver responded, his voice so low and venom-filled that Felicity knew she would have been terrified if she were in Slade's place right now. "Just today, you said that."

"I also said she's a dumb blonde bimbo who I would only fuck if I was desperate, but that doesn't mean – "

Slade stopped speaking when Oliver's fist collided with his jaw. Slade responded immediately by launching himself at Oliver – who shoved Felicity to the side. Felicity shrieked as Slade's bulky frame tackled Oliver to the ground. The two men crashed onto the hard floor with Slade quickly gaining the upper hand.

"It's about time you learned a lesson, kid," Slade said as he hit Oliver's face.

"Stop!" Felicity watched Slade use his bulk to pin Oliver down while hitting him. Oliver's arm had been pinned behind his back when Slade tackled him, and his left arm was no match for Slade's strength. "Do something!" she shouted, looking at Amanda.

Amanda just shrugged and motioned for the camera to move closer.

"You think you can embarrass me on television?" Slade yelled angrily, hitting Oliver again. "You just don't want me around Felicity because you know once she's had a taste of me she'll drop you."

Oliver growled and managed to shove Slade enough that the bulkier man wobbled and loosened his grip enough for Oliver's right arm to wedge out from underneath him. "I don't want you around her because you're a fucking psycho!" Oliver spat, bringing his arm up to hit Slade hard in the nose.

Slade reeled back, grabbing his nose. Felicity saw blood start to seep through his fingers and she could have sworn she saw his eyes turn red with rage. Before Oliver could fully right himself, Slade lunged at him again, using his arm to press against Oliver's neck – securing him against the floor again and cutting off his air.

Slade was choking Oliver. Felicity had seen the look in Slade's eye a moment ago. Slade wasn't going to stop.

Slade was hurting him.

With a desperate cry, Felicity threw herself towards them and jumped onto Slade's back, yanking him backwards with all of her strength. "Get off of him!" she yelled.

Slade barely budged, but her presence must have hindered him a little because he grunted and reached behind him to shove her roughly off his back. Felicity yelped as the force of his arm flung her to the side and she tumbled to the ground and into a nearby folding chair. She heard Oliver and Amanda both yell something just as she felt a throbbing pain erupt in her wrist. She sat up gingerly, avoiding putting weight on her wrist and looked back towards the commotion.

Oliver and Slade were being hauled off one another by burly security guards. Slade was yelling profanities about Oliver and about the show while the two security guards tried to pull him backwards towards the door. "And you can tell that bitch, Felicity, that all of America knows the only way she'd ever get to the top of a company is by sleeping her way there!" he finished, his eyes crazed and his expression unhinged.

"Hey!" Felicity yelled angrily, her face flaming at the accusation, just as Oliver lunged forward again, almost taking the three security guards holding him back with him. The men in black succeeded in reigning Oliver back just as Slade started laughing and was finally pulled through the door and out of sight.

Oliver's chest was rising and falling with his accelerated breaths. He turned to look at her where she was still kneeling on the floor and his face changed. The livid anger receded enough for his eyes to take on a look of concern. He roughly shoved the security guards' arms off of him and made his way over to her, kneeling in front of her.

"Felicity, are you ok?" His hand came up to rest against her cheek, his eyes searching hers. He had a cut over his right eyebrow and his upper cheek was read and swelling.

She nodded and reached out to tentatively touch his face, wishing she could make the injury go away. This was her fault. If she'd just listened to her gut and gotten rid of Slade earlier, this wouldn't have happened. "I'm sorry, Oliver. I should have - "

"Felicity," he interrupted, "it's not your fault. Slade's not right." He reached up and took her hand in his. She hissed when she realized she'd been using her injured hand and his touch bent her wrist a little and caused a thousand pin pricks to sting her joint. "Hey," he soothed. "It's ok." He looked over his shoulder towards Amanda, who was whispering something frantically into her headset. "Get a medic over here!"

"Oliver, it's fine," she shook her head, shifting her weight to stand up. He looked at her and followed her lead, standing up in front of her. A medic rushed towards them with a bright orange bag, taking Felicity's injured hand. She hissed again in pain and Oliver frowned at the medic.

Amanda approached them, her brows furrowed. "Please tell me you're not hurt. We can't afford to stall production."

Oliver tensed, his jaw and fists clenched.

"Looks like just a sprain. Nothing a brace won't fix in a couple days," the medic said.

Amanda nodded. "Good. Look, that was _gold_ you two. I really appreciate you ramping up the drama. Slade's gone. There's no way we can let him back after that. But _Jesus,_ what a show, right?"

Felicity just shook her head. "He could have really hurt someone, Amanda."

Amanda shrugged. "He didn't. It's fine. Now Oliver, go with this medic so they can look at that disgusting cut on your face. Hopefully it can be covered up with makeup."

Oliver's eyes skipped back to Felicity. "You sure you're okay?"

She managed a smile, and reached out to squeeze his hand with her uninjured one. "I'm fine."

He seemed satisfied, and let one of the medics lead him away.

A strange feeling developed in her chest. What would she do if he wasn't here? When did that man become the only one here she trusted completely? When had she let herself care about him so much that the thought of Slade hurting him had her completely abandoning the logic and forethought that she'd prided herself on for her whole life? How was he able to calm her adrenaline running through her veins with just a look or smile?

Something told her there was no going back from this. Even if she wanted to.


	5. Hometown Date

**Chapter 5: Hometown Date  
**

Everything was better once Slade was gone. Amanda, seemingly apologetic for Felicity ending up with a sprained wrist when it was all said and done, became a little more lax with her rules and instructions. She let Felicity take Oliver on a one-on-one date the following week and she even let Felicity hang out with the remaining four men in the Bachelor Mansion during off times. Of course, Amanda claimed it was because they were coming to the end of the show and she needed Felicity to form at least one solid relationship that could result in an engagement, but Felicity knew deep down it was more than that.

Perhaps Amanda did have a soul.

Whatever the reason, Felicity wasn't complaining.

She'd had a great solo date with Oliver. Amanda had let Felicity actually plan the date, and Felicity had opted for a night in with just the two of them. They cooked dinner together (Oliver did most of the cooking), watched a movie, and cuddled on the couch. It was exactly the type of thing Felicity could imagine herself doing on an average night, and having Oliver there with her had felt easy. Natural. Like he belonged in the routine.

They'd spent the evening talking. Oliver liked it when Felicity told the story about Wendy Price with her evil eyes and mean scowl beating Felicity in the National Information Technology Competition on a technicality in the rules. Felicity didn't find the story that funny, but Oliver laughed his ass off at her delivery. They discovered that they shared a love for _Survivor_ and discussed their strategies for if (when?) they competed on the show. Oliver taught her how to dice an onion and she taught him how to work an Apple TV.

Over dinner, she had asked him what she should expect from his hometown date – which was coming up. Over the course of the show, she'd learned only the basics. He grew up with money on the outskirts of the city, he had a younger sister, and his father had passed away in a boating accident a couple years ago. He never talked about his mother – something that nagged at Felicity, but she never brought it up since she knew Amanda wanted her to. And if Amanda wanted her to, it couldn't be good.

Something Slade had said before he was asked to leave the show also weighed on her. He'd said Oliver was related to a murderer. What did that mean? She wanted to ask Oliver about it, but she didn't want to push him on something he wasn't ready to tell her. Especially not in front of the excess of cameras that were always around ready to pick up every last word and facial expression.

What he _had_ told her was that when she came to his hometown in Star City, she could expect to meet his little sister, Thea. Every time Oliver talked about Thea, his face lit up with pride. He told Felicity how Thea had recently graduated and was taking business classes at the local university while also learning the ropes of management at a local nightclub. Felicity knew that Oliver was almost ten years older than Thea and that he often talked about her the way a proud father might talk about his daughter.

Oliver had also said she would _not_ get to meet his mother. He hadn't explained why. He'd just said his mom wouldn't be there and left it at that.

Felicity hadn't pushed him.

Now, almost a week later, Felicity was on her way to meet Oliver in Star City, and she couldn't keep the thoughts about what he was hiding about his mother from bubbling up again.

Oliver's hometown date was her last hometown date. She'd met the families of the other three men already – which was slightly awkward in Tommy's case since Malcolm Merlyn, the host of the show, was his father. All the other families had been nice and welcoming, and Felicity had enjoyed her time with them. Oliver's hometown date however… this one she was nervous for.

She knew she'd be meeting Thea – possibly the most important woman in Oliver's life – and Felicity wanted nothing more than to make a good impression. What if she embarrassed herself in front of Thea? What if Thea didn't approve of Oliver meeting her on this show? Would that be enough for Oliver to think twice about his feelings for her? Would it be enough to derail whatever it was between them? Could he reconsider what she knew was a real connection and what she hoped he wanted to continue after the show ended?

Her stomach was doing somersaults and her palms were sweaty as her town car pulled to a stop in front of a large brick building in a historic looking downtown area. Was this right? Oliver said he lived in a penthouse apartment with his sister, not a trendy two-story brick walk-up.

She stepped out of the car and held a hand up to her eyes to shade them from the bright late-summer sun. The building had a small set off stairs leading up to the double front doors. To the left of the building was a coffee shop and to the right was another large brick building that had a few different businesses advertised on its front door - from an insurance agency, to a bank, to some sort of printing company. The area was charming, but it seemed like more of a business district.

Just as she was about to turn back to the driver to have him check the address, she saw Oliver walking towards her, followed by the usual entourage of cameras. He looked well-rested and wore a big smile.

Felicity felt most of her nerves disintegrate at the sight and returned his smile. She made her way towards him and rose up on her toes to throw her arms around his neck and hug him. He responded immediately – his arms winding around her back and his face leaning down to bury itself in her neck.

"Hey," he greeted in a low voice. His breath tickled against her, and she felt his warm lips press against the skin of the curve of her neck, igniting a warm, pleasant buzz beneath the surface of her skin. "I missed you."

She inhaled where her face was buried in his shoulder and reveled in the scent she had come to know as uniquely his. "I missed you too," she affirmed, pulling back to give him a smile.

Oliver moved his hands from her waist to frame her face, then pulled her close enough to kiss her. The kiss was gentle and chaste. It was enough to greet her and show her he'd been waiting to do it since the last time they parted. He pulled back slightly so that their noses rubbed together and their breaths mingled. He reached up to smooth a few stray strands of hair away from her face.

She sighed in contentment. She really _had_ missed him. The other men were great and she enjoyed being around them and their families, but nothing compared to the feeling of _ease_ that came from being around Oliver. The feeling of being comfortable and safe while also being excited and energized was something she'd never totally felt around a man. It was like a drug that she couldn't get enough of, and when she wasn't around him, she spent almost all of her time thinking about what she would do or say when she saw him again.

"I have a surprise for you," Oliver told her, stepping back but grabbing her hand so he didn't break contact with her.

"Oh yeah?" she teased.

He watched her, his eyes crinkling around the corners. "Yeah. Come on."

He tugged at her hand and started leading her up the stairs of the brick building. When they got to the front door, Felicity noticed a "For Rent" sign hanging in the window partially obscured by some overgrown bushes. "Is this where you live? Are you moving?" she began to wonder aloud as Oliver pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. "The neighborhood is nice, but it doesn't seem very residential. Not that I don't like it! If you live here, that's totally fine. I mean, I'm sure it's nice to have a coffee shop next door. I'd probably be visiting it every morning." She stopped abruptly, her face flooding with heat. "I'm not assuming I'd be here! With you. Every morning. Of course, that would be…that's not what I meant…"

"Felicity." The door had clicked open and Oliver had turned to her with a smirk on his face. Instead of seeing the amusement reflected in his eyes she was getting used to, she saw something else. His eyes almost seemed darker or more intense. They froze her and sent an electric feeling pulsing through her veins. He leaned in close so that he was whispering in her ear. "Believe me, if you'll have me, you _will_ be waking up at my place. With me. Every morning."

Felicity mouth fell open in a small "o" and she felt her skin heating again – but for a different reason.

Oliver pulled away again and opened the front door, motioning for her to go inside. She did as she was told and stepped into the dimly lit room. She looked around, her eyes adjusting slowly to the shadows, the only light coming in through the windows and the open front door. Oliver stepped in behind her, having passed the door off to the chain of camera operators who were following them around. He put his hand on her waist and reached over to flip a light switch.

The lights buzzed on and Felicity was surprised to see how big the space was. They were standing in a large, oblong room that extended all the way to the back of the building. The same brick from outside decorated the interior walls, and what looked like original hardwood adorned the floor. The windows in the front and back let in some natural light, and the whole room had a unique, cozy feeling despite its size. To her left, Felicity saw four doors spread out along the wall.

The space was beautiful. She loved it.

Except it was completely bare. No furniture. No signs of being lived in at all.

"Um…" she began, trying to tactfully ask why he didn't even own a couch. "Your place is… um… nice…."

Oliver snorted a laugh and she turned to face him with narrowed eyes. What was she missing?

"Felicity, I don't live here."

Her shoulders sagged in relief. Thank God he wasn't living in some abandoned building. "Then…what are we doing here?"

Oliver shifted his weight and ducked his head slightly, giving her an almost bashful smile. "I know you mentioned you were looking for places to expand your company. I just thought…. I saw this place the other day and it made me think of you."

Felicity had stopped breathing. He picked this out for her? He just admitted that he could imagine her here, living and working in his city?

Overwhelmed, Felicity looked away from Oliver and back at the large room they were standing in.

She could see it.

Computer terminals set up down the center of the room. Desks along the outside edge. Private offices and meeting rooms along the left side. Servers and hardware tinkering stations upstairs. Some trendy lights hanging from the ceiling to complement the brick and wood. The thriving historic business district. The coffee shop next door for the late nights and early mornings of work.

It was perfect.

"What do you think?" He sounded tentative, as if he was worried about her reaction.

She turned back to him and saw his face matched his voice.

"It's just an idea. It's your company, so you can do what you want with it. I just thought – "

She cut him off by running towards him and crushing her lips to his. He stumbled back but caught her with an arm around her waist and returned her kiss. She pulled him closer, her hands framing his face the way he had so often done when he kissed her.

"It's perfect," she whispered against his lips, feeling his curl upwards into a smile.

"Yeah?"

She nodded, kissing him again.

Oliver and Felicity spent the rest of the afternoon together. They walked through the rest of the property, Felicity spouting off ideas for the setup and configuration of the workspace excitedly while Oliver nodded and smirked. He told her about the area and what made Star City a unique place to live. She asked him how close the City Building was to where they were and she was rewarded when he gave her a dazzling smile and told her it was close enough for him to bring her lunch every day.

Then they went over to the coffee shop – after all, Felicity couldn't even imagine renting an office space without sampling the nearby coffee. They sat together and talked, laughed, and just enjoyed one another's presence.

Too soon, Amanda showed up to usher Felicity away to be prepped for the dinner and "meeting the family" portion of the date. With a kiss goodbye, they had parted until the evening.

About two hours later, Felicity had been changed and made-over and was ready to be back on camera meeting Oliver's sister. Amanda had picked out a red dress for Felicity that zipped all the way down the side. Her hair had been done up and her makeup had been touched up too many times to count.

When the car pulled up in front of a posh downtown apartment building, she was thankful to see Oliver waiting outside for her looking sinful as ever in his dark pants and button-down shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows – a look Felicity really appreciated.

He walked towards the car, opened the door, and helped her out.

"You look beautiful," he told her, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"Thanks. You don't think it's too much?" Felicity asked, patting her hand against the intricate bundle of hair the stylist had pinned up with a million bobby pins.

Oliver shook his head. "No, you look gorgeous. Thea dressed up too."

Felicity let out a breath and forced a smile. "Ok, well that's good. I don't want your sister to think I'm a complete idiot."

Oliver laughed. "Felicity, I don't think _anyone_ could think that you, of all people, are an idiot."

His joke helped lighten her tension a little more and she nudged him with her shoulder.

They made their way inside and onto the elevator hand in hand, followed by the slew of cameras and producers. Oliver stroked the back of her hand with his thumb – probably an attempt to keep her calm.

Felicity's nerves were a mess. Her stomach kept flipping over uncomfortably and she was fighting to keep her breathing and heart rate even. Even Oliver's gentle touch on her hand wasn't enough to totally offset it. She didn't want to mess this up.

With a _ding_ , the elevator door opened and Oliver led her to a door at the end of a small hallway.

He opened it.

They stepped inside.

Felicity let out an audible gasp. His apartment was _beautiful_. The far wall was entirely made of glass and showcased an impressive view of the city. The decoration was a mix of modern metals, wood, and brick that somehow didn't leave the space feeling cold. Instead, the balance of beauty and modernism created a sleek, comfortable, and rustic space.

"Thea?" Oliver called out, moving his hand to Felicity's back and guiding her further into the penthouse.

Felicity heard the soft click of heels approaching from around the corner, then a slender brunette came into view. Her hair was short and styled and she was expertly dressed in a tight, black shimmering dress.

More sophisticated and grown-up than Felicity would have expected for someone her age, Thea Queen smiled as she approached. "You must be Felicity! I've heard so much about you!"

Felicity smiled at the girl's enthusiasm and started to extend her hand to shake, but Thea ignored it and promptly pulled Felicity into a hug.

Startled, Felicity laughed. "I've heard a lot about you too."

Thea pulled back, still smiling brightly, and laughed. "Great. Ollie probably told you all sorts of embarrassing stories."

Felicity looked at Oliver, mouthing the word "Ollie?"

His lips twitched and he just shook his head slightly.

Thea turned to her brother then and gave him a shove on the shoulder. "You told me she was pretty, but damn, Ollie. She's way out of your league."

"I'm aware," Oliver said, pulling Felicity closer into his side and kissing her temple.

Felicity smiled, but shook her head at the notion that she was somehow "out of his league."

Thea reached forward and looped her arm with Felicity's. "Ok, Felicity," she began. "My brother has had plenty of time with you. Now it's my turn." She started pulling Felicity forward towards the sitting area on the far end of the large oblong room. "The recipe is in the kitchen, Ollie. You might want to get to work if you want to eat within the next hour!" she called teasingly over her shoulder.

Oliver huffed out a laugh but made his way to the kitchen anyway.

When Thea sat down on the couch, Felicity followed her lead. "So Felicity," Thea started, "tell me about yourself. I asked Oliver about you once and he wouldn't shut up until I tuned him out, so I really don't know a lot. I think he said you're from Las Vegas?"

"Yeah, born and raised," Felicity responded lightly.

"That's awesome," Thea confirmed. "What was that like?"

Felicity shrugged. "As a kid you don't really get to see the part of the city that it's known for. It was a fine place to grow up and start out, but I wouldn't mind branching out and finding a new city to call home."

Thea eyed her and began to smirk. "Did Oliver tell me you've been banned from some casinos for counting cards?"

Felicity felt her mouth drop open and her face heat up as Thea started to laugh. "He told you that?" Thea nodded through her laughter and Felicity cast a glare to the side of the room where Oliver was cooking something in the kitchen.

Thea clapped her hands and continued to laugh. "That's awesome. You have to teach me how you did it."

Felicity tried to fight her own giggles. Thea's giddiness was infectious. "I don't know if Oliver would want me corrupting his little sister."

Thea laughed even harder at that. "Ha! As if Oliver hasn't done that enough himself. I've known you for five minutes and I can already tell you're a better role model than he used to be in his teenage years. He'll probably kill me if he finds out I've even mentioned it."

"He's mentioned before that he was a little….wild….as a teenager."

"That's one way to put it," Thea laughed. Suddenly, she patted Felicity's leg and stood up. She rushed over to a table by the windows and opened a drawer. She pulled something out and tucked it close to her chest, returning with a devilish smirk on her face. "You're going to die when you see what he used to look like."

Intrigued, Felicity waited. Thea theatrically turned the picture frame in her hands around so that Felicity could see. There were two people in the picture: Oliver and an older man who she assumed was his father. Oliver had a smirk on his face, and his hair was much longer than it was now. It was slicked back and to the sides towards his ears. He looked younger, probably in his late teens or early twenties.

"Uh….he looks…cute," Felicity tried diplomatically, snapping her mouth shut at the end to try to keep her laughter at bay.

"Cute?" Thea questioned before bursting into laughter. "God, you really are too good for him. He looks like a creep."

Felicity snorted and took the picture to look at it more closely. It really wasn't a flattering picture. She paid attention to the older man though. He had white-gray hair and a big smile on his face. His hand was on his son's shoulder. Their proximity suggesting they were close. Oliver hadn't talked a lot about his father, but Felicity was looking forward to spending time off camera with him next week in the Fantasy Suite so she could ask him about his parents and he wouldn't have to answer in front of the millions who were sure to watch the show.

"Ollie!" Thea called between her laughs. "You need to hold on to this one! She said your creepy pervert picture with Dad was cute!"

Oliver groaned from his place across the room in the kitchen.

The evening flew by easily. Felicity's nerves about meeting Thea were put to rest almost as soon as she'd met the young woman. Thea had a way of including Felicity and making her comfortable despite her young age. Felicity could see why Oliver was so proud of her. Thea was well-spoken, put-together, funny, and clearly driven based on the way she talked about her work at a nightclub in town called Verdant.

The three of them ate dinner together and talked. Thea asked about the show and their dates so far. Oliver and Felicity reminisced about stomping grapes, climbing obstacle courses, and kickboxing classes. Oliver and Thea joked and told stories about the shared memories of their childhoods. They all three shared stories of work and school experiences. Oliver and Thea stared at Felicity in awe when she talked about the grade levels she'd skipped and Thea made some teasing remarks to Oliver about how it was good he'd found a genius to balance out his lack of academic skills.

At the end of dinner, as they were comfortably sitting around the table eating the desert of mint chip ice cream that Oliver had bought, they heard a knock at the door.

Felicity knew something was up when she saw two of the three cameras that were on them rush to cover the door. She also saw one remaining camera person lean his head to the side as if listening to something in his earpiece.

Oliver must have sensed it too because she felt him tense from where her hand was on his thigh and where his arm was around the back of her chair and resting on her shoulder.

"I'll get it," Thea said cheerfully. She wadded up her napkin and set it on the table.

"No," Oliver cut her off. "I'll get it." He took Felicity's hand from his leg, kissed the back of her palm, and then let it go. He scooted his chair back and then hurried off towards the front door.

"Ok…" Thea smiled and shook her head. She took a drink of her water.

Felicity waited anxiously to hear anything from the door. What had Amanda and her production team cooked up? They weren't expecting anyone else to join them tonight. Oliver had told her that.

She heard Oliver unlock the door and pull it open.

There was silence.

A few heartbeats passed.

Then he spoke. "What the _fuck_ are you doing here?"

Thea's eyes snapped to her and they both scooted their chairs back at the same time.

"Oliver," a clear, feminine voice responded in a way that sounded like the name itself was a glass of water and the speaker had been dying of thirst.

Thea froze, and Felicity became even more alarmed. The young woman looked at Felicity with wide eyes and began shaking her head and muttering "no" under her breath. Thea took off running around the corner towards the door and Felicity followed as quickly as she could.

"Get out," she heard Oliver say in a dangerously low voice.

"Mom?" Thea rasped, coming to a halt when the doorway was in sight. Felicity stopped too. In the doorway stood a blonde woman. She was wearing long black pants that were loose fitting around her legs, a silk blouse, and her hair was perfectly styled so that not a single strand appeared out of place.

Oliver was standing across the threshold, his face carved from stone and his arm on the door as if he were ready to close it at a moment's notice. The camera crew was standing around, pointing their various cameras at Oliver and the woman who must have been his mother. As Thea and Felicity approached, a few of them swiveled to focus in on their reactions. Lastly, she noticed that Amanda herself was standing off to the side of the whole scene, whispering something into her headset.

"Thea," the woman choked out, stepping further into the apartment. Oliver, seemingly too shocked to move, didn't stop her.

"What….how are you here?" Thea's voice faltered on the question. Felicity watched as Oliver's eyes snapped over to Amanda, something having clicked in his brain.

"What did you do?" he accused harshly.

Amanda stepped forward, her hands in front of her in a pacifying way. "Ok everyone, I know this is shocking. I spoke with the facility that Mrs. Queen was staying in and explained that tonight was a significant milestone in her son's life, and they allowed her the evening away in our care. Isn't this great?"

Oliver's thumb and forefingers rubbed against each other at his sides and Felicity could tell he was close to losing his calm façade.

"You're telling me you broke her out of _jail_ for entertainment value for your show?" Thea screeched.

Felicity inhaled sharply. _Jail?_ Their mother had been in _jail_?

"Semantics, Ms. Queen," Amanda dismissed. "I thought you'd be happy to have your entire family reunited for the evening."

"We don't want her here," Thea interjected, her voice and posture steeled in a way reminiscent of her brother.

"Thea," the older blonde woman choked out, extending her hand toward her daughter. Thea only crossed her arms.

Felicity was confused. What was going on, exactly? Why was Mrs. Queen in jail? Was it also the reason her children didn't seem to want to be near her? She felt like an intruder on an important family moment and wanted to make herself invisible.

Too soon, the woman's gaze fell on Felicity. "You must be Ms. Smoak. Your producer was telling me all about you on the way over."

"Uh…." Felicity wasn't sure how to respond.

"Don't," Oliver warned, his attention focused on his mother. "Whatever you're planning to say to her, don't. Leave her out of everything. In fact, maybe you should just leave."

Felicity gasped at his tone and started walking towards him on instinct.

"Unbelievable. Did you know about this, Ollie?" Thea questioned, her cold gaze falling on him.

Felicity reached Oliver and rested her hand on his arm.

"What? No," Oliver denied firmly, his jaw setting tightly.

Thea crossed her arms, her face hardening into almost a mirror of her brother's. "I find that hard to believe after all the strings you've been pulling. This is too far," she seethed.

"Thea, I know we've had our disagreements, but please – " the woman, Mrs. Queen, started.

"I had nothing to do with this. I don't want her here either," Oliver replied, his voice laced with ice as he cast a quick glance at his mother. Mrs. Queen squared her shoulders and stood up even straighter – as if her children's dismissal of her was only making her more determined to succeed in whatever she was trying to do.

"Oh really?" Thea argued. "Because it seems like her showing up on this show would be just right for - "

"Can I talk to you in private?" Oliver interrupted, his anger evident in the way his voice was calm and controlled but his hands were shaking slightly.

Felicity watched as Thea turned up her nose and marched down the hall to a bedroom. Oliver whispered to her that he would be right back and then followed his sister down the hallway.

What just happened?

Left in the foyer of the apartment were Felicity, Oliver's mother, Amanda, and a slew of crew members – almost all of whom were wearing identical shocked and confused expressions. Notably, Amanda looked bright eyed and like she'd just found a one hundred dollar bill in her pocket. Mrs. Queen looked impassive.

"Here's what we're going to do!" Amanda said, her voice full of authority as she stepped into the middle of the small crowd. "Give Oliver and Thea a few minutes to talk, then we'll send Felicity and the camera crew in to break it up and get this date back on track." She glanced at Mrs. Queen. "Moira, I had no idea your children would react this way. We'll edit it so it's not as dramatic."

 _Yeah right,_ Felicity thought cynically.

"You don't know my children well if you thought the reaction would be any different," Moira Queen responded evenly. The woman turned her gaze to Felicity. "I'm sorry you had to meet me like this. I haven't spoken to my son in some time, but I saw the look on his face when he opened the door. He was happy before I got here. If that has to do with you, then thank you."

Taken aback, Felicity didn't know how to respond. She nodded her head stiffly, her mouth feeling like it was stuffed with cotton.

"Felicity, we don't have a lot of time, so I need you to go calm them down and bring them back out here to continue the date," Amanda said, pressing a hand to her headset so the camera crew would all hear her instructions.

"They might need more time to talk about…whatever that was," Felicity argued. The last thing she wanted was to get in the middle of family business. As much as she cared about Oliver and was enjoying getting to know Thea, she didn't think it was her place to intervene.

Amanda groaned and put a hand on Felicity's back, ushering her forward. "They'll have that time after the date ends and I deliver Moira back safely to her prison cell." Felicity heard a haggard intake of break from behind her where Mrs. Queen was. "Right now, we need footage. Now go."

Felicity bit back a retort and started walking down the hallway. How could a date that had been going so well take such a sudden, disastrous turn? She had no idea what was going on between Oliver and Thea, but she did know that both of them had looked like they'd rather do anything than speak to their own mother just now.

She could hear Oliver and Thea's muffled voices arguing as she got closer.

What was up with Mrs. Queen anyway? In _jail_? For what? Was that why Oliver had never mentioned her? Was that why Amanda always wanted Felicity to bring her up? That was Oliver's personal family business. How dare Amanda dig it up and expose it on her television show?

Felicity was close enough that she could understand some of what was being said behind the closed door.

"- don't even know you anymore!" Thea was yelling. "She's nice and sweet and funny –"

"Thea, I know." Oliver sounded upset. Felicity's heart sped up and so did her feet as she hurried towards the end of the hall where the door was.

"Does Felicity have any idea?"

Felicity paused. They were arguing about _her?_

"No." Felicity stopped breathing. What didn't she know? "Thea, you can't tell her."

Thea's contemptuous laughter rang through the walls. "You know, I was willing to go along with this for you, Ollie. For your stupid dream to be the stupid mayor to keep some kind of stupid promise to Dad. But bringing Mom here? That's a new low and not something I agreed to."

"I didn't –"

"Stop!" Thea demanded. "You said this was all about rehabbing your image. You said no one would get hurt. But from where I'm sitting, Felicity seems pretty into you and I don't think she'd be happy to know this has all been an act you planned from the beginning."

Felicity shook her head, starting forward again. _No. No. No._ This was out of context. She shouldn't be hearing this. What she was hearing couldn't be what she thought she was hearing. This wasn't…. Oliver wasn't…. She had to knock on the door and stop this. She'd sort it out. He would explain.

"Was bringing Mom in to up the sympathy for us all part of your plan too? Because I don't need it, and I don't want it. I told you I never wanted to see her again, and I meant it," Thea continued. "You said _all_ I had to do for this stupid show was be seen on this stupid hometown date."

Felicity raised her hand to knock on the door. She had to stop this. She had to ask him what was going on.

"You said after this, you'd invent some sort of emergency and leave the show so people would feel bad for you. Are you using me for that? Are you using mom for that? Is this all part of your twisted plan?"

Felicity choked on the breath she took, her fist paused in the air ready to knock. Oliver was going to leave? This wasn't real for him? He was going to walk out and never look back?

Oliver was the only one here making any of this worth it. He was going to leave her?

She heard him speaking on the other side of the door, but the pounding of her own heart in her ears made it impossible to understand. Her throat ached. Her eyes burned. Her stomach felt like she'd just dropped it onto a trampoline and was doing somersaults through the air.

He was going to leave.

It was all a show.

She felt 7 years old again, watching her father load his things into his car and drive off. Naively believing him when he said he'd be back but knowing somewhere deep down that this time was different.

Oliver was going to leave too.

Her trance was broken when the bedroom door swing open. Oliver was standing in front of her, his brow furrowing when he saw her there. She met his eyes, silently pleading with him to explain this. To explain what she'd just heard.

Whatever he saw on her face made him gasp. "Felicity," he whispered, reaching for her.

She stepped back, holding his gaze despite her vision starting to cloud with unwanted tears. She squared her shoulders and mustered all the cool confidence she could. "You are going to leave."

"Felicity, no, I - "

She cut him off. "Leaving was your plan all along?"

He swallowed, his eyes holding hers. "Yes."

Felicity nodded and turned abruptly back the way she came down the hallway. She had to get out of there. Her throat was on fire with the need to cry and the salt of her tears was burning her eyes.

"Felicity, wait!" he called desperately, grabbing her arm and spinning her to face him. "Let me explain."

Felicity swallowed, turning to look away from him. She wanted to look anywhere but at his blue eyes that made the future feel full of hope and promise. Anywhere but his lips that made her feel sinful anytime they were near her skin. Anywhere but his face that had embedded itself under her eyelids without her permission.

How did she let herself get here?

"Felicity," he tried again, bringing his hands up to frame her face this time and turning it so she had no choice but to look at him. She did so defiantly. His eyes were searching hers, a now familiar look in them. It was the same look he'd shown only a few times – like right after he kissed her for the first time. Only this time it wasn't masked. This time Felicity could recognize the fear reflected in them because he made no effort to hide it. "I had a plan, and it was to leave. But that's not the plan anymore. I don't know what you heard or think you heard but - "

"What I heard," Felicity started, her voice trembling more than she wanted it to, "is that you aren't different. I thought you were. So I'm going to save you the trouble and leave first."

Oliver stilled like she'd slapped him.

She shrugged his hands away from her and stepped back from him. She swiped at her eyes to rid herself of the two small tears that had slipped past her eyelids, then turned. She bit her cheeks in aggravation and resisted the urge to pull at her hair when she saw the entire hallway blocked by cameras and crew members. All watching everything she thought she knew to be true crumble before her. All observing quietly. All memorializing her pain in film format for her to have to re-live in a few months when it aired.

She couldn't breathe. Everything was wrong and backwards and not how it was supposed to be. She needed to get out of here.

"Felicity," Oliver called in a strangled whisper, his fingertips brushing against her elbow like he was reaching for her.

Felicity ignored him and moved forward, wedging a crewmember aside roughly in her attempt to escape.

"Let her through," she heard Oliver bark from behind her.

The cameras and crew members parted just enough for her to get through quickly. She hurried towards the front door, pausing when she entered the foyer. Moira Queen was looking with her with something akin to a knowing pity in her eyes. Amanda Waller was wearing the same expression.

Felicity felt her lips start to tremble when she realized Amanda had known. She must have. Everything that happened on this god-forsaken show she knew about.

God she was so _stupid_.

Just this morning Felicity had had been thinking about a future in Star City. She had let herself imagine a life in which she worked in the city, growing her company in this beautiful northwestern atmosphere. She had let herself dream about grabbing lunch with Oliver, visiting him at the mayor's office, spending her nights with him. She had started to hope that maybe Thea could be the sister she never had but always wanted.

Felicity had done the one thing she swore to herself she wouldn't do at the beginning. She got attached and she forgot this was a television show. Everything here was a mirage – including Oliver.

She'd forgotten, and now it was too late.

Squaring her shoulders, Felicity grabbed her purse and headed out the door. Leaving every last one of them behind.


	6. The Fantasy Suite

**Chapter 6: The Fantasy Suite  
**

It had been 22 hours since Felicity had overheard that Oliver's plan all along had been to play his way through the show and then leave her at the last moment.

It had been 22 hours since Felicity felt her heart shatter into ten thousand pieces – even though it would not have if she had only kept her promise to herself to treat this show as a promotional opportunity and nothing more.

It had been 20 hours since Felicity had boarded the network's private jet on her way back to California for the final rose ceremony before the coveted Fantasy Suite dates.

It had been 15 hours since Oliver had banged on her hotel room's door, begging her to open the door and listen to him.

It had been 15 hours since she'd ignored him. Unwilling to give him any more parts of her to break.

It had been 14 hours since security had made him leave from where he must have been sitting outside her door.

It had been 5 minutes since she'd had the finishing touches put on her makeup in preparation for the rose ceremony. The rose ceremony in which she was going to say goodbye to the only person here who she thought understood her. The only person she wanted to spend time with. The only person she thought she saw a future with.

She should have known it was a lie. People don't _actually_ find love on television shows.

A knock on the door pulled Felicity's attention away from her reflection in the mirror where she was studying how well the makeup artists had covered up the dark circles under her eyes.

Amanda Waller stepped into the room. Felicity hadn't seen Amanda in person since last night at Oliver's house. She didn't want to see her.

"Felicity, we're ready for you."

Felicity nodded and made her way towards the door. Amanda stopped her just before she passed.

"For what it's worth," Amanda began quietly, "Oliver and I ironed out a plan for how he would be edited when he signed his contract."

Felicity swallowed down the bile that had risen in her throat. She didn't want to hear this. She didn't want to hear how she'd been deceived and how everything he'd done had been an act. It would only make it worse.

"He was supposed to make sure I got my steamy heartthrob scenes, and I was supposed to make him look sympathetic."

"Well you both failed I think," Felicity grumbled.

Amanda shook her head. "These past few weeks….Oliver has been going off script. He wasn't supposed to punch Slade." Amanda paused and looked off to the side. "But I can't exactly complain about that because it's going to be ratings gold."

Felicity swallowed and looked at the floor.

"He's the one who asked that you be allowed to spend time with the men in the house between filming," Amanda continued. Felicity could feel Amanda's eyes on her watching her reaction. Felicity was determined not to give her one. She was done letting Amanda plan out and manipulate her life and feelings.

"Felicity, he didn't tell anyone about that office building he took you to see. That was all him."

Felicity felt her lips trembling and sucked in a breath.

He was going to leave her.

This changed nothing. Amanda telling her these things changed nothing.

"It doesn't matter," Felicity said, wiping the corner of her eye delicately.

Amanda slammed her clipboard down, causing Felicity to jump in surprise. "Of course it matters!" Felicity looked at Amanda in shock. "Do you know how many years I've been doing this, Felicity? Ten. Ten _fucking_ years and I've _never_ seen two contestants look at each other the way you two do. Even the ones who were _actors_ , Felicity. Even they weren't as convincing. Do you know what that means?"

"That Oliver needs to consider a career in the film industry?"

"That he's not acting."

Felicity sighed. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you'll regret it if you send him home without ever hearing him out. And I know damn well that you're not interested in any of the other men romantically, so consider this as me doing you a favor."

Felicity clenched her teeth in frustration. "Amanda, he came here with a prearranged agreement with you to flirt with me on camera and then leave me at the end."

"And how is that different from how _you_ came here?"

"I - " Felicity paused. Her situation was completely different! For one, she never planned to purposely lead anyone on. Secondly, she never planned to invent some sort of 'family emergency' so she could leave the show. Plus she never agreed to put on any sort of show for the cameras….

"You came here to raise your profile for your business, not to fall in love. You never planned to actually find someone while you were here. Oliver's no different."

"You're only saying these things because you want what's best for your show, not for me."

Amanda narrowed her eyes. "That's true. But it just so happens that in this situation, they're the same thing."

Felicity took a deep breath. "I can't let him in and then have him leave, Amanda. I can't."

In an uncharacteristically friendly gesture, Amanda put her hand on Felicity's shoulder. "Just listen to him. That's all I'm saying." Amanda squeezed her shoulder and then passed Felicity and exited the dressing room.

Felicity turned back to the mirror. Thankfully, her makeup was still in place and in no need of touching up. She stood up straight and raised her chin. She was strong. She could do this. She would go out there and send Oliver home. It was the only choice. What Amanda had said about Oliver possibly liking her for real was irrelevant. How could she trust him now knowing that him leaving was a very real possibility?

She couldn't.

And she couldn't be with someone she couldn't trust.

She took a deep breath, steeling her resolve, and walked out the door to make her way to the large room where the rose ceremony would take place.

She stepped into the hallway and immediately felt a familiar warm hand on her elbow.

"Felicity."

She turned to see Oliver standing in the hallway. He had dark circles under his eyes and he hadn't shaved. His hair was disheveled. It looked like he'd been running his hand through it nonstop. His tie was loose and his shirt was wrinkled.

He was a mess.

"Felicity, can I talk to you?"

Felicity stood frozen. He stepped towards her tentatively.

"We have to be on camera in two minutes Oliver," she whispered. "That's all you have."

He nodded and took a shuddered breath. "Ok. That's fair." He paused and ran a hand over his face. "I don't know where to start."

Felicity looked away from him, not liking the lost look in his eyes. "Start with when you were planning to leave."

He cleared his throat and shifted his weight slightly. "The plan was to leave during the Fantasy Suite date – before going to the Fantasy Suite. But Felicity, I swear to God, that hasn't been the plan for a long time."

"How can I believe that?" she challenged, happy her voice sounded strong despite the fact that his words were slicing through her in ways she hadn't felt in a long time. Ways she wouldn't have expected from a person she'd known for only a couple months.

"Because it's the truth," he asserted, his voice firm and his eyes focusing on her with a renewed passion. "Because everything changed when I met you. I expected you to be beautiful – which you are – but I didn't expect you to be smart, and kind, and funny. I didn't expect you to be… _you_. After our first date I knew I didn't want to leave, and after our second date I knew I _wouldn't_. God, Felicity, I can't even stomach of the _thought_ of leaving. These past few hours… I can't sleep, I can't focus, I can't even _think_."

"Oliver," she started in a whisper.

He stepped closer, bracketing her face with his hands and forcing her to look at him. She sucked in a breath at the intensity and honesty she saw in his eyes.

"I am not leaving you," he vowed. "I don't care what my contract says. I don't care what the plan was. I'm not leaving. If you want me gone, you'll have to send me away yourself because, Felicity, I am _not leaving you_."

Felicity didn't realize she was trembling and that a tear had leaked out of the side of her eye until he reached up to gently wipe it away.

His voice lowered and his eyes searched hers. "I know I have no right to ask, but please. Let me stay. Let me prove it to you."

"What the hell are you doing!" a loud voice interrupted, causing Oliver to drop his hands and both of them to look up and see Amanda stalking towards them. "You two were supposed to be on camera three minutes ago!" She grabbed Felicity's arm and started pulling her down the hall. Oliver followed.

Felicity's mind was clouded over – her thoughts about Oliver and about the decision she was about to make going to war with one another.

She heard Amanda muttering something to herself that sounded like, "…not even on camera."

They entered the large room to be used for the rose ceremony and Felicity was momentarily blinded by the array of stage lights that had been set up. She was led to her place in the center of the room like a doll being moved and placed in position.

Her thoughts were jumbled. Her movements were mechanical. She couldn't focus.

What the hell was she going to do?

Five minutes ago, she had been _sure_ she was sending Oliver home. But now… could she really do it? The thought of making him leave and never seeing him again sent a sharp pain through her head and made her stomach hurt. That hadn't changed, but she had been willing to put up with the pain because she knew it was what needed to be done to protect herself.

Malcolm stepped forward and started giving his usual speech. Felicity ignored him and stared at the three roses on the table next to her.

Oliver had sworn he wasn't leaving, and he'd seemed honest. Could she trust that?

"Felicity," Amanda whispered angrily from behind her.

Felicity jerked her head up to see they were waiting for her to hand out the first rose. She picked it up and called Tommy's name, her motions and voice feeling foreign. Her mind was two roses ahead of her body.

Tommy came towards her to accept his rose and give her a hug.

She wanted to believe Oliver more than she'd wanted anything throughout this entire process. But if she believed him and he left, could she ever get past that? Despite her plans, she'd allowed Oliver to entrench himself in her life. She wanted to be around him. She liked talking to him. She felt capable and adventurous with him. She was the first person she thought of when she woke up and the last person she thought of before she fell asleep.

She had come to _need_ him and his presence in a way she wasn't used to.

She grabbed the second rose and called Barry's name. Going through the motions she'd gone through hundreds of times at this point.

She need Oliver. She couldn't imagine doing this show without him here. She couldn't imagine losing the feelings of security and excitement that he gave her. Was that enough to keep him here? Was she brave enough to open herself up to the possibility of him leaving if it meant getting to be with him for a little longer? If it meant he might _not_ leave?

Malcolm stepped up next to her. "Gentlemen, this is the final rose tonight," he said dramatically and then stepped back off camera again.

Felicity picked up the rose, her hand shaking and her stomach dropping to the floor.

This was it.

Time to make a choice. Take a risk or stick to self-preservation.

She looked up at the two remaining men across the room. Ray was looking at her with an almost impassive face. He was a nice guy, but she was pretty sure he was aware that their relationship wasn't going anywhere after this show. She glanced next to him at Oliver and sucked in a breath. His hands were stuffed deeply in his pockets and his eyes were downcast. She'd never seen him look so defeated. So _sad_. He looked the way she felt.

She spoke before she even realized she'd decided.

"Oliver." Her voice came out soft and almost like a question.

Oliver's head snapped up and his eyes met her. He stared at her in confusion, like he'd misheard what she'd said, but his eyes held a shimmer of hope. She let out a breath and nodded her head.

Oliver visibly relaxed and his face cleared. He made his way towards her and came to a stop right in front of her.

"Felicity," he whispered.

"Oliver, will you accept this rose?"

His Adam's Apple bobbed as he swallowed and nodded his head. She made quick work of pinning the boutonniere onto his suit jacket, then looked up at him. She saw a mixture of emotions that knocked the breath out of her just as he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug and buried his face into her shoulder.

Her body relaxed when she felt the familiar pressure of his arms around her back and his warm breath against the skin of her neck.

She hugged him back as her eyes began to sting with the need to cry. Without even realizing it, she'd given this man the ability to destroy her. And even knowing that he might do it, she still couldn't walk away from him. She'd been trying to deny it to herself, but what she felt for him was too strong.

"Thank you," he whispered against her, his voice cracking, "for giving me the chance to prove I meant what I said."

Her throat burned as she nodded, knowing he couldn't see but not being able to say anything anyway. He whispered those words like he was as sure of them as he was that the sun would rise tomorrow morning. It felt like he meant them. He held onto her like he thought letting her go would cause her to float away. It felt like he was scared she would. His heart beat unsteadily against her as if he'd just watched everything turn out alright in a horror movie. It felt like maybe it had.

She had to trust him. Since the thought of sending him home crippled her, she had no other choice. She had a lot she needed to talk about with him but maybe, just maybe, it would turn out ok. Maybe he _did_ mean what he said.

Maybe not every man she loved was destined to leave.

* * *

The next evening, Felicity was preparing for her first Fantasy Suite date. She and the men had been flown to Bali during the night last night, and now the crew was setting up for a couple of days-worth of Fantasy Suite dates. Felicity knew that these dates were her only real chance to have private, off-camera time with the men to talk. She also knew that the show usually alluded to these dates ending in a much more romantic way than she planned for them to.

Amanda had told her to make sure she sold it that she was interested in having sex with all three men that were left.

Felicity knew there was no way she was sleeping with three men this week.

In fact, the only one she'd ever even _considered_ sleeping with was Oliver and that was before the mess they'd found themselves in on their last date. She and Oliver still had some things to discuss.

Because of that, she'd requested that Oliver be her first Fantasy Suite date. She'd also asked that the date be filmed out of order. She wanted the off-camera time that usually came at the end to be tonight. She needed to talk to Oliver. She needed a full explanation. She needed to understand what his full plan had been and why.

She needed to tell him some things too.

And she needed there to be no cameras around. She had to be sure that everything being said was being said because it was true and not because it was part of some façade.

When she'd asked Amanda to let the Fantasy Suite with Oliver come _before_ the actual date, Amanda had only pursed her lips and squinted her eyes. She'd acquiesced, but made Felicity promise to wear a bathing suit the entire next day for the actual date portion. Felicity had rolled her eyes, but given in.

And that was how she found herself sitting on the private dock outside of her bungalow with her feet hanging over the edge trailing lazily through the clear, lukewarm, Indonesian water. Oliver was due to arrive any minute. Amanda had told her that the cameras would follow him so they could get some shots of them entering the suite together, but after that, they were on their own.

Felicity was both excited and scared for that.

She heard someone step onto the dock that led to the over-water bungalow she would share with Oliver for the night and looked up. Oliver was approaching with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his shorts and a tentative look on his face.

She gave him a small smile and stood up to meet him.

"Hey," he greeted. He stopped short of giving her a hug and his voice was hesitant.

"Hi," she breathed, offering him another small smile. She saw his face light a little with hope.

"Thank you for letting me stay. I'm going to explain everything - "

"Oliver." She stepped forward and grabbed his hand. He looked at her, seemingly surprised at being cut off and by her initiation of any sort of physical contact. She tugged at his hand lightly. "Let's talk inside."

He looked over his shoulder at the group of cameras watching from the edge of the dock, then back at her. He nodded gratefully. She squeezed his hand in acknowledgement, then turned and led him to the bungalow.

They stepped inside, and Oliver shut the door behind them. The small suite was situated entirely over the water, and the far wall was completely open to the outside with only some dark, drawn back curtains to create any barrier when they were closed. On the outside of the curtains was a fenced balcony that included a Jacuzzi tub and some lounge chairs. It was the dry season in Bali, so the air was warm and crisp. The area was so remote that the only things that could be seen when looking beyond the balcony were the crystal blue waters of the Bali Sea and the yellow-gold sunset on the horizon. Felicity knew from traveling through the property that the bungalow was on the outskirts of the resort for maximum privacy.

The inside of the suite was decorated in a way that had initially taken Felicity's breath away. On one side was a large bed adorned with white blankets and pillows. On the other side was a sitting area and a small kitchen. It all felt light and airy, and the soft sound of waves lapping against the foundation of the bungalow was the sweetest music Felicity had ever heard.

"Wow," she heard Oliver breathe out. She turned back to look at him, and that's when she remembered what was going on.

They were alone.

No cameras. No microphones. No one but each other.

For the first time, they were truly alone together.

A thrill shot through her. This was it. She'd been waiting to get him alone for weeks, and the desperate need for this alone time with him had only grown exponentially after the events of the past few days. She needed to hear everything from him so she could decide where they could go from here.

"Let's sit?" she offered, pulling him towards the sitting area. He let her lead him and sat down next to her on the loveseat – angling himself so he was facing towards her.

"So," Oliver began, his voice gravelly, "I know there's a lot I need to tell you. I'll tell you anything you want."

Felicity nodded, hearing the truth in his words. "Tell me about your mom."

His eyes snapped to hers and he swallowed before nodding. "My mom is currently serving out the last couple years of a 12 year sentence for vehicular manslaughter while under the influence."

Felicity sucked in a breath. Whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't that.

Oliver continued. "It was just after my first year of college. I was back for the summer and mom had just picked me up. I didn't know at the time that she'd been drinking with the man she was having an affair with. Neither of us saw the car – or the red light she blew through." He paused and ran a hand through his hair and sucked in a breath. "It was a young family in the car. The mom didn't make it."

Felicity felt her heart fracturing at the pain on his face and in his words. Oliver had been there? He'd seen it all?

Oliver's jaw tightened and he looked down. Away from her. Felicity felt her brows furrow. "It was my fault."

Felicity stilled. "What do you mean?" she whispered.

He looked back at her, and the self-loathing she saw trapped in his blue eyes made her feel like she was being buried alive. He'd _never_ shown this to her. She _never_ wanted to see it again.

"She never should have been out that night. Apparently she'd told my sister and father that she was spending the night at a spa with some of her friends. The only reason she was driving was to come pick me up." Oliver ran a shaky hand over his face then. "Back then, I was a mess Felicity. I was spoiled and I was a dick. That night, I had been arrested for fighting with a police officer, and my mom was who I called to come bail me out. I was arguing with her in the car when the accident happened."

"Oliver," Felicity whispered, reaching for his hand. She'd do anything to help end the pain she heard in his voice.

He shook his head and took another breath, looking up at her, his eyes pleading. "I swear I didn't realize she'd been drinking. If I had… I've replayed that night over in my mind more than I can count. If I had done something, _anything_ , different, maybe that family and my sister wouldn't have _both_ lost their mother that night. Thea hasn't talked to my mom once since it happened. She probably could have forgiven her for the affair, but the way it came out? I don't think she'll ever forgive either of us completely for that. And she shouldn't."

"No." Felicity scooted forward instantly and placed her hands on the side of his face so that she could force him to look at her. "Oliver, what happened is not your fault."

He stared at her, a new darkness clouding his eyes. He reached up and removed her hands, keeping them firmly clasped in his own when he lowered them to the space between them. His voice was low when he spoke. "I hurt people I care about, Felicity. I hurt my sister. I hurt my parents. I hurt you."

Felicity shook her head, her hands trembling. "You only hurt me because you scare me."

He continued to stare at her, the intensity in his eyes igniting a spark deep in her chest. "You scare me too," he rasped. "More than you know."

"Is that why you were going to leave?"

"No." His answer was quick and sure. "I'm a selfish bastard, Felicity. I _know_ people I care about get hurt because of me, but I want you anyway. I _need_ you anyway. And that scares the shit out of me."

"Then why were you going to leave?"

Oliver inhaled a shaky breath. "I meant what I said about wanting to do something to help my city and run for mayor. But the accident and my mom's trial were big news in Star City. People there still see me as the kid who was constantly on the news getting into trouble and whose mom killed someone when cleaning up his mess."

Felicity nodded, the puzzle pieces clicking into place. "So the show was your way of changing your image?"

Oliver began running his thumb over the palm of her hands that he held in his own – reminiscent of what he'd done on their first date. "Basically. I saw Thea watching the show one night and she was telling me about all the things the past contestants were doing now and I just thought… I don't know. I thought going on the show would be a way to make people see me differently."

"How does your agreement with Amanda factor in?" Felicity asked, watching his face. The honestly she saw there didn't flinch.

"I went to a casting call for the show and Amanda happened to be there. She seemed interested in my story and when I told her that I wanted to be on the show to change my public persona. She said the show still needed someone who'd be willing to play a certain role and that we could help each other. I agreed to play some sort of stereotype of a guy who's constantly taking his shirt off in exchange for a good edit and a contrived emergency that would pull me away from the show towards the end so I could have all the sympathy from the audience but none of the strings when the show ended."

Felicity felt her heart speed up and she looked away from him.

"Hey." His hands let go of hers and she felt his warm fingers on the sides of her chin and jaw bringing her face back to look at his. "That was the plan before I actually got here and met you. It hasn't been the plan in a long time."

Felicity studied him. "Why?" she whispered. "It sounds like things would be easier for you after this if you stuck to the plan."

Oliver's eyes narrowed a little but he didn't remove the tips of his fingers from her face. He just shook his head. "Fuck the plan. I want you."

Felicity moved her eyes away from him, letting her mind wander and her thoughts spill out into words. "I'm just me though Oliver. Nerdy Felicity Smoak who spends more time with her computers than other people. Who's been on more dates in the past few months than in the entire rest of her life combined. Who says inappropriate things without thinking. I doubt I'm anything like the girls you're used to dating."

"Is that really how you see yourself?"

She looked back and him and saw his eyebrows drawn together. "I'm not insulting myself if that's what you think. I'm comfortable with who I am. I'm just saying, someone as handsome and driven and charming as you probably doesn't go for someone like me very often."

"Felicity." He released her chin from his fingertips and moved his hands to rest on her shoulders instead. "You are the most beautiful, intelligent, and kind woman I have ever met. You are different from other women I've dated, and that's what I love about you."

Felicity felt her stomach flip over and her breath catch.

Oliver wasn't finished.

He used his hands on her shoulders to pull her forward lightly. She leaned a little towards him, slightly mesmerized by the sudden concentrated look on his face. He moved one hand up to smooth her hair back from her face, letting his fingers rub softly over her temple and head. "Your brain amazes me. I could spend the rest of my life studying and still wouldn't be nearly as smart as you are."

"Oliver," she whispered, her eyes fluttering shut as his hand lightly danced forward so that the pads of his fingertips trailing over her warming skin and resting at the corner of her eye.

"Your eyes," he continued, his voice low and soft. "I've never looked in someone's eyes before and felt like they were really seeing me. But I do with you."

His fingertips moved again so that his thumb dragged lightly over her lips. Her breathing sped up. "When I was younger, I tried a lot of illegal substances. But none of them affect me like your lips. I go crazy just thinking about them and every night since I met you I've dreamt of kissing them."

Felicity wanted to speak. To tell him he had it all wrong. That _she_ was the one who thought _his_ brain was amazing. That thought _his_ eyes were seeing her. That thought _his_ lips were the most distracting thing in existence. But she couldn't form words.

His fingers trailed down her neck and over her collarbone. The skin left in their wake felt heated and raw. When he reached the center of her chest, just above her breasts, he flattened his palm against her shirt, only his fingertips resting against the skin exposed by her tank top.

She opened her eyes and met his. His voice came out as a whisper this time. "Your heart is the most beautiful part of you. The way you're passionate about helping people. The way you treat the crew members on this show like they're just as important as the network executives. The way you look at me like you see the best in me. Felicity, these things make you _you_. And you're someone I want and someone I need."

Overcome by the emotion in his eyes and the emotions she felt rising inside her, Felicity leaned forward and captured his lips with her own. He kissed her back, his hands migrating to her back and pressing her towards him.

The pressure of their lips together gave her one of the most euphoric feelings she'd ever had. His lips felt like Heaven and tasted like sin. Just like they always had. How had she almost let this go? Her hands snuck under his shirt to rest against the taut muscles of his abs while their lips continued to meld together.

He pulled back to take a breath and rested his forehead against hers. Her eyes opened lazily to look up at him, her chest heaving as she caught her breath.

"Felicity, I can't do this until you tell me what you're thinking," he rasped, his breath tickling her reddened and already tingling lips. "I need to know if you forgive me and if this is going somewhere. I need you to say it."

Felicity watched his eyes open and connect with hers. He looked as vulnerable as she felt. He was giving all the power to her and putting himself in the position to be crushed – just like she had done to him when she gave him the rose last night.

"Yes," she whispered, tilting her head slightly so their noses touched and their lips were even closer together. "Yes, I forgive you. Yes, I want this to go somewhere. Yes, if you're not leaving, I'm not leaving." She could feel him tremble slightly beneath her hands at her words. Her eyes fluttered shut and then she forced them open. "Yes, I want you to kiss me again."

As soon as she said the words, she felt him yank her forward so that she was straddling his legs and his lips were back on hers. She moaned when his tongue entered her mouth at the same moment that his hands slid under her shirt and ignited a fire along the skin of her back. She pulled her hands from beneath his shirt and rested them along the sides of his neck and top of his shoulders, just beneath the collar of his shirt.

He continued to kiss her with a fevered passion that was melting her bones and igniting her veins. She gasped when his warm fingers dipped beneath the clasp of her bra.

She wanted it off. She wanted to feel his hands on all of her skin.

Pulling away from him suddenly, she grabbed a hold of the hem of her tank top and yanked it over her head – tossing it to the floor beside them. Oliver watched her, his eyes darker and more intense than she'd ever seen them. She leaned forward again, reclaiming his lips, while his hands coasted across her newly exposed skin.

She started fiddling with the buttons of his shirt, working her way down.

Oliver tore his lips from hers and kissed his way down to her neck. The sensation of his lips nipping and massaging at the soft skin of her neck while his short facial hair prickled against her neck and shoulder had her eyes closing, her head tilting to the side, and her hands shaking.

It turned out that unbuttoning a shirt was difficult to do while Oliver was turning her brain to mush with his lips on her neck. After struggling with a button halfway down the shirt for what felt like forever, Felicity lost her patience.

"I'll buy you a new one," she whispered breathlessly before taking hold of the two sides of his shirt in her fists and yanking them apart. The remaining buttons popped off and bounced onto the floor. Oliver stilled and she felt his lips curve against her neck.

"Did you just break my shirt?"

Felicity ran her hands over his now exposed chest – reveling in the perfect, sculpted feel of his skin and muscles. Her hands roamed under the sides of his shirt and started to push them off his shoulders. "Too many buttons," she mumbled as he started kissing his way up towards her ear.

She felt his breath tickle her skin as he huffed out a laugh. He moved his arms to help her rid his body of his shirt, then banded them around her back so he could pull her flush against him. Everywhere their exposed skin touched felt heated. He pulled her earlobe in between his teeth and she gasped and shifted in his lap in response – rubbing herself against the hardness covered by his pants and causing him suck in a breath in response.

"Oliver," she whispered. He hummed in response, moving his attention back to her neck – which he seemed to really like. "Too many clothes."

Oliver pulled back and looked at her, his pupils blown and his lips red. She imagined she looked the same. He held her gaze as he reached around her back and flicked open the clasp of her bra. Her heart beat erratically as he slid the straps over her shoulders and she shrugged to rid herself of the piece of clothing. The cool air mixed with the heat between them caused her newly exposed skin to prickle pleasantly.

Oliver closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers, his breathing heavy. His hands settled on her sides, rising up high enough that his thumbs grazed against the sides of her breasts. "Felicity," he began, seeming to struggle for words. "I want you."

She kissed him lightly then pulled back just enough so that their lips were still touching as she answered. "You can have me."

Before she could even register what was happening, Oliver had attached his lips to hers again and stood up with her in his arms. He walked across the room, laying her down on the bed and lowering himself on top of her, never breaking the connection between their lips and tongues.

In a frenzied passion of kisses and touches and moans, somehow both of their pairs of shorts ended up in a heap beside the bed. With nothing separating them but their thin underwear, they lied tangled together, their mouths trying to fuse into one and their hands trying to burn themselves into the other's skin. When both were short of breath, Oliver's mouth worked its way down her collarbone to her breasts. Felicity gasped loudly when his mouth attached to one breast while one of his hands came up to massage the other one. His tongue swirled around one of her pebbled nipples and she felt like she couldn't breathe at the feeling his lips and tongue were creating deep within her.

He switched his attention to her other breast and her hands tangled in his hair as she fought to keep her sanity.

Through her Oliver induced haze, she realized his mouth had moved and he was now kissing his way down her stomach. Past her belly button. To the edge of the last lacy scrap of clothing she worse.

Her body was on fire. He paused and looked up at her, his hands settling on her hips and his fingertips resting just below the elastic. "God, you're beautiful," he murmured.

His hand dipped fully below the lace, hovering between her legs close enough for the heat from it to drive her insane without actually touching her. "Oliver," she whimpered, raising her hips so that she felt his fingers against her sensitive skin. They both groaned at the contact. He bent his head to continue to press maddening kisses across her abdomen as he let his fingers explore her. They dipped through her folds and circled around her clitoris – sending pulsing sparks up through her body.

Her hands fisted in the sheets beside her when she felt two of his fingers slide further down and inside her. She saw him look up at her with a devilish grin just before her eyes snapped shut at the sensation his fingers were creating as he lazily withdrew them and then pushed them in again.

After a few more strokes of his fingers, he must have had enough with his teasing because she felt his hand leave her and her lacy underwear being hastily pulled down her legs and discarded.

His arms laid across her thighs, spreading them, and rested on her abdomen.

Then his mouth was on her.

She cried out when she felt his lips pulling her nether lips between his own, kissing them in the same way he kissed the rest of her body – with passion and precision. His tongue branded sinful designs into her as it circled and teased and flittered over her. She heard her own voice cry out _oh god!_ when his tongue entered her, but she was far from being able to control her voice or even _think_ about anything other than his lips. His tongue. His hands. His mouth.

Her breaths were coming out in pants and she could feel a familiar tingling sensation starting to build deep within her.

Her hands fisted in his hair, begging him to keep going, and he groaned. The feel of his soft lips and tongue combined with his stubble creating a delicious burn was overloading her senses.

His lips. His tongue. His mouth.

She was hot all over. She couldn't control her movements. She couldn't control her voice.

His lips. His tongue. His mouth.

The tingling spread until she could feel it in her toes. She whimpered.

Then she was over the edge and holding onto his hair as the only thing anchoring her to this world as his lips, his tongue, and his mouth soothed her back down to earth.

"Oliver," she groaned, moving her hands to cup the sides of his jaw and urge to move up towards her. "Kiss me."

He growled and hungrily complied. Her leg bent to wrap over his hip, anchoring his lower body to hers, and she felt his hard length rub against her sensitive center. She frowned in dismay when she realized they were still separated by his boxer briefs.

Wasting no time, she pushed lightly against his shoulder, urging him to break their kiss and pull back.

" _Still_ too many clothes," she asserted, shoving him onto his back and climbing on top of him. She ignored the way he was grinning at her now. She was on a mission. She grabbed the elastic band around the last article of clothing between them and pulled it down enough for him spring free, then removed the boxer briefs all together.

She looked at him and saw his amused smile disappear when she wrapped a hand around his erect length. His eyes snapped shut and he drew in a ragged breath. Wanting to do to him what he'd just done to her, Felicity leaned down and wrapped her lips around his velvety tip.

" _Fuck_ ," Oliver swore, his hands fisting in her hair, causing her to smile against him.

She used her own lips, tongue, and mouth to drive him crazy. She licked him from base to tip. She swirled her tongue around him and took him in her mouth – what could fit at least. She reveled in the way he reacted and catalogued the things she did that caused his breath to hitch or him to groan in pleasure. Every noise he made sent a shock of pleasure right to her core, amplifying her need for him like nothing she'd ever felt before.

When she started to feel a familiar throbbing between her legs again, she knew she needed him inside her _soon_.

He must have felt the same, because he suddenly called her name in a breathy pant and pulled her up to make their lips meet. He flipped them over in one fluid motion so that he was lying between her legs again – this time with nothing between them. She whimpered at the feeling and kissed him hard.

He kissed her back for a moment, then pulled back. He reached over the bedside table and plunged his hand into the drawer, scanning for something. He pulled out a silver wrapped condom and laughed a little breathlessly.

"I think this is the only time I've been happy that there's a television show meddling in our lives."

Felicity sat up slightly and took the condom from his hands. "They're nothing if not prepared." She tore the wrapper off, then rolled the condom down his length, watching as his eyes closed tightly at the contact.

She moved her hands to his face and pulled him back on top of her. He kissed her as she wrapped her legs around him and he aligned himself so that every slight movement had them gasping in pleasure.

His hand came up to rest against the side of her face, and she opened her eyes to stare straight into his. He let a finger trail gently down her cheek, silently asking her for permission with his eyes.

She nodded.

With a hard thrust, he was fully inside her. They both cried out at the sensation, their eyes closing and their foreheads falling to rest against each other.

Felicity rotated her hips slightly and they both gasped.

Oliver rested his weight on his forearms and moved to kiss her just as he pulled himself out and thrust in again.

"Oliver," Felicity moaned as he entered her over and over again – her mind completely overtaken by him and everything he was making her feel.

He filled her completely and hit against places she hadn't even known were there. Her brain was short circuiting. Her eyes were closed and her lips were kissing him fervently between her moans and gasps of his name.

All she could think about was getting him impossibly closer. Even inside her wasn't close enough.

She was tingling and throbbing and shaking all over when she heard him cry out her name and still above her. The feeling of his thick length pulsing inside her walls sent her over the edge with a loud shout.

They rode out the waves together, clinging to one another, peppering the other with kisses, and moving together to prolong the euphoric feeling. When their hearts had settled slightly and they had begun to catch their breath, Oliver reluctantly pulled out of her. Felicity whimpered at the loss, and he kissed the corner of her mouth.

He disappeared from the bed for a minute to dispose of the condom, then crawled back in next to her. She turned to face him, and he looped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

Their faces were close enough together that they were breathing the same air. Felicity trailed her fingers lightly over his forehead and down his cheek. He looked at her with something in his eyes that took her breath away.

"Oliver?" she whispered.

He hummed lightly in response, his hands drawing lazy patterns on her back.

"I need to tell you something."

He just watched her, waiting for her to go on, that look in his eyes never leaving.

"I realized something at the rose ceremony yesterday."

He raised an eyebrow.

"It scared me that you might leave because I'm in love with you."

He sucked in a breath, his hands coming to a stop.

Felicity instantly moved her finger to press against his lips. "Don't say anything. I don't want you to say anything. I just needed you to know."

She removed her finger from his lips and saw his eyes were on fire with something undefinable.

He did as she asked and didn't say anything. Instead, he kissed her with a passion that Felicity could feel all the way in her fingertips and toes.

He didn't say anything, but she was pretty sure he showed her what he was feeling multiple times that night.


	7. The Finale

**A/N:** This is the second last chapter! Thank you to those of you who have taken a moment to give me some feedback. I really appreciate it. :) Although this is the "finale," there's still an After-Show to come that I'm sure will be a dramatic way to end the "show." ;)

 **Chapter 7: Finale  
**

Felicity had decided that Bali was a magical place.

Not only was it breathtakingly beautiful here, but it was where she'd finally taken a leap with Oliver. Where she'd listened to his story and trusted him with her heart. Where she'd told him how she felt. Where they'd made love. Multiple times. So many mind-blowing times. Where she hoped they'd get to start their solo adventure together sans cameras and producers and orchestrated dates and circumstances.

And that leap into the future was today.

Today was, finally, the last day filming the show. Today was the day she would "choose" the man she wanted to continue to have in her life – as if her choice had not been made months ago.

As Felicity posed for the obligatory shots of her "getting ready" for her final rose ceremony, her mind wandered to her final date with Oliver three days ago.

She had woken up the next morning bathed in the warm Bali sunlight and seen Oliver sleeping peacefully next to her. She'd let her finger trail over his lips and his jaw, marveling at the fact that this beautiful, strong, kind, and passionate man was hers.

Their Fantasy Suite date had been surreal. They'd been honest with each other and she'd felt her soul connect with his in a way she'd never felt before. She _knew_ this man and she _loved_ him. She hadn't let him say it – not wanting to give her skittish mind any reason to overanalyze and doubt his intentions later since the words would have come on the heels of his apology and plea to be kept on the show – but she knew. She could see it in the way he looked at her with those soft, intense eyes. She could feel it in the way he kissed her neck playfully while she tried to get dressed for their date that day. She could sense it in the way he locked their hands together when they left the bungalow and were met with the barrage of cameras looking for any scandalous detail in their appearances that they could find.

She'd been thankful for the high neckline of the shirt she'd packed for today and had been careful to wear her hair down to cover most of her neck. As wonderful as Oliver's beard had felt against her skin, it certainly hadn't made her _look_ good this morning.

When Felicity had chided him lightly about the beard burn and other marks he'd left on her, he'd just shrugged and apologized in a way that made it clear he wasn't sorry.

She wasn't sorry either.

Amanda had thrown a fit when she finally had Felicity in a dressing room ready to change for the actual date portion of her time with Oliver. She'd gone on and on about how Felicity had promised to wear a bathing suit all day, but that was now basically impossible.

"A hickey or two on your neck, I could have worked with," Amanda had ranted. "But your collarbone? Your hip? Your THIGHS, Felicity?!"

Felicity had only shrugged sheepishly and watched as Amanda scrambled to pull together a different final date for the pair.

It had turned out perfectly though. Instead of going on a boat tour of some nearby Indonesian Islands, Oliver and Felicity spent the day walking through a local marketplace and touring the city – followed by the hordes of cameras this time, of course. They sampled some local food, got roped into watching a few kids play an intense game of soccer in the street, and toured a historic temple.

Throughout the day, Oliver had held her hand, kissed her cheek, and whispered things to her when he was sure the cameras and microphones couldn't pick up on them. Some things he said were sweet and made her want to pull him close and kiss him and tell him she loved him over and over again. Some things he said had been naughty and had made her want to pull him into the nearest building, lock the door, and repeat some of the sinful things they'd done the night before.

They'd ended the night over dinner, and Felicity had felt like she was coming down from a high as the dinner neared an end. The past 24 hours had been from a dream, and they were winding down. She'd have to be separated from Oliver – only for a few days, but still – and the thought had made her feel like she was leaving a limb behind.

When Amanda had signaled that the date was over, Oliver had pulled Felicity close and kissed her head and promised her he'd see her in a few days. Felicity had kissed him, told him she loved him, and made him promise not to have too much fun in Bali without her for the next two days.

They'd separated and Felicity had been taken back to the suite that now felt empty without him.

Impulsively, she had bribed one of the security team members who she'd grown fond of throughout the process, John Diggle, to take her to wherever Oliver was staying.

Felicity had spent a second night with Oliver, laughing, kissing, and making love. They'd stayed up all night talking about the future. About what they'd do when this was over, about how they'd fit into each other's lives, about how they'd have to keep their relationship a secret for a few months while the show aired.

They'd even shared a few dreams. Felicity told Oliver how she'd always wanted a home with a yard so her kids could have a place to play like she never did. Her heart beat fast in longing when Oliver told her that he'd always secretly wanted a handful of kids to read to and play with and teach how to ride a bike. Things he said his nannies had always done for him and his sister.

The morning had come too quickly, and they'd parted again with a few fevered kisses.

John had snuck Felicity back into her suite only minutes before Amanda had come in to start preparing her for her Fantasy Suite date with Barry. Amanda had eyed Felicity's neck.

"Why does that look like a _new_ hickey?" she'd asked suspiciously.

"I don't know?" Felicity has responded, pulling her robe more tightly around her.

For two days, Felicity had spent time with men who _weren't_ the man she was head over heels in love with. Those two days felt like two lifetimes.

She had sent Barry home before they even got to the Fantasy Suite date card – much to Amanda's chagrin. Felicity liked Barry. He was a nice guy who deserved happiness, but she knew she'd never see him as anything more than a friend, and she was sure he felt the same way. She hadn't wanted to make him sit through a rose ceremony only to be rejected dramatically on television.

She'd spent her next date with Tommy. They'd had a fun day doing the boat tour and she and Oliver had skipped during their day together. That night, Felicity had taken Tommy to a Fantasy Suite – only to use their off-camera time to devise a plan. Tommy knew there was nothing romantic between himself and Felicity, but he told her he'd like a chance to be the next Bachelor so he could have a shot at finding someone it _would_ work with.

Felicity had understood, so they'd spent the night planning out how Felicity would break his heart on the final day and scripting some heartbreaking soundbites he could say to help win the sympathy of the audience. They even rehearsed the break-up a few times. It turned out that Tommy was a great actor, which Felicity hoped would make up for her lack of acting talent.

The next morning, Tommy had left and Felicity had been whisked away to start getting ready for the grand finale.

Which led her to where she was now. Repeating soundbites for Amanda about how difficult this decision had been (which was laughable), how much she didn't want to hurt either of the men that were left (which was true, she guessed), and how she couldn't believe she was in love with two men (expect she wasn't).

After her final interview, she was led to a picturesque precipice overlooking the clear blue Bali Sea. Around the sides of the frame were masses of pink and yellow flowers with a small stage set up in the middle of them that held lit candles and even more flowers. The cameras were set up in a semi-circle around the stage, ready to capture every word, movement, and facial expression of this culminating event.

Amanda led Felicity to the stage, commanding a few production assistants to pick up the edges of Felicity's skirt so it didn't drag across the ground. The pale pink fabric of the gorgeous, airy dress would certainly show dirt. And Felicity assumed a princess in a dirty dress wouldn't buy Amanda the ratings she craved.

When everything was set and Felicity had been given all the specifics on where to stand and what to do, Tommy Merlyn was sent in.

He looked handsome and wore a charming smile, just like he had on the first night.

Felicity swallowed down her nerves, hoping she wouldn't mess this up, and began running through the scene they had planned out together just the night before.

Tommy played his part beautifully. He said lovely things about her and their relationship. They weren't necessarily true, but the audience didn't need to know that. For all intents and purposes, he poured his heart and soul out to her. Then, just as they'd practiced, he knelt down on one knee and reached into his pocket – and Felicity awkwardly told him to stop.

She apologized and told him there was someone else, that she couldn't love him the way he deserved, and that she hoped he found someone who could give him everything so that next time he was ready to propose, it would be for good.

Tommy theatrically sniffled and wiped at his eyes to clear the tears he'd conjured up. Felicity internally wondered why Tommy had never taken up acting as a career. He was really good at it!

With a final kiss to her cheek and a wish for her to be happy, Tommy Merlyn walked away, half of the cameras turning to watch his heartbroken retreat.

Amanda called "cut" and the assistants rushed in to touch up Felicity's hair and makeup and relight any of the candles that had blown out. The scene was reset, and then it was time for Oliver.

Felicity felt her stomach starting to turn over anxiously while she waited for him to arrive. She wasn't nervous that he'd reject her or run away – she knew they were past that by now - but she was feeling a strange mixture of excitement and nerves because this was it. This was the moment it all became real. No more show manipulating their surroundings and situations. No more cameras watching their every moves. No more producers feeding them lines to say.

After this, they could just be Oliver and Felicity.

She was ready.

She heard a car pull up and turned to see Oliver exiting the town car and making his way towards her. He looked immaculate as ever in his three-piece suit and she was suddenly reminded of the night she met him. When she babbled, and he smiled, and it was over. She never stood a chance.

Oliver stepped onto the stage, smiling at her, and kissed her cheek.

"Hey," he whispered, taking her hand.

"Hi," she greeted with a smile, feeling any of the tension she had felt drain out of her with his touch.

He reached up and tucked a curly strand of her golden hair behind her ear. "You look beautiful."

"So do you."

He grinned at her and squeezed her hand.

Felicity knew that this was the moment she was supposed to let him start his speech, whatever it was, but she wanted to go first. Anyway, it wouldn't be right to end the show without disobeying Amanda one last time.

"Oliver," she began, just as he opened his mouth to speak. He closed his mouth and looked at her curiously. "Let me start," she clarified. "Oliver, I came on this show a skeptic. I wasn't sure it was possible to find love on a television show. I'm a very logical, pragmatic person. And falling in love over the course of three months while you're dating a bunch of men just isn't logical. But it happened."

She focused on his eyes, letting the look in them anchor her as she laid her soul bare for him. "I fell in love with you, and it scared me because people I've loved have left before. But you made me realize that sometimes loving is worth the risk. You make me feel brave and powerful. You make me feel wanted and loved." She paused, her eyes starting to well up with unshed tears despite her best efforts to keep them down. "You made me realize that love isn't logical or pragmatic like I am. It just is. I love you, and I want you to be the best thing I take away from this experience."

Oliver sucked in a shuttered breath and reached up to smooth a tear from the corner of her eye. She smiled at him and he smiled back before clearing his throat.

"Felicity, I came on this show a skeptic, too." His voice was deep and gravelly, and Felicity recognized the emotion he was trying to keep at bay. "But you made me a believer. Your kindness and intelligence inspires me to be the type of man you deserve. I've never known what it felt like to have someone believe in me from the beginning, but you did. Your love and your trust are gifts I want to spend forever repaying." He reached his hands up to rest on her cheeks, wiping away a few more tears she'd shed. "I love the way your beautiful brain makes you say things I don't always understand. I love when you challenge me and push me to be the best version of myself. I love how you order desert at the same time as you order your entrée."

Felicity laughed softly at that, and Oliver stroked his thumb across the corner of her lips. "I love your laugh, too." She smiled and kissed the pad of his thumb.

"Felicity, I'm in love with you." He paused and reached into his pocket to pull out a small silver ring in the shape of a wrapped-around Arrow. "I made this ring for you to show you that no matter where we started, I promise we'll keep moving forward. I promise to stick with you and to love you for as long as you'll have me."

"Oliver," she whispered, her hand shaking as he lifted it and gently slid the ring onto her ring finger. She looked back up at him through her tear-filled eyes and saw a similar emotion swimming in his.

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the finger that now held his ring. "I love you, Felicity. More than I know how to say."

Felicity used her other hand to reach to a nearby pedestal that held a solitary rose. She turned back to Oliver and smiled. "Oliver Queen. I know neither of us expected this, but will you accept this rose?"

Oliver grinned and pulled her to him, connecting their lips in a gleeful kiss. As amazing as all their kisses had been, this one was different. Better. This one held a million loving promises and a thousand tiny hopes and dreams.

"Yes," he whispered against her lips with a smile. She laughed and pulled back enough to pin the rose to his lapel before he pulled her back in for another kiss.

There on a sunset-bathed cliff on the coast of Bali, she, Felicity Smoak, had found her happy ending. Despite the contrived circumstances. Despite her doubts. Despite the manufactured drama of the television ship. It had all led her to Oliver, and he made every bit of it worth it.

"Cut!" Amanda called.

Oliver paused his kisses and leaned his forehead against hers. Together they shared a knowing smile because this was the last time Amanda could interrupt them with her annoying scene cuts at the worst moments.

"Great show everyone!" Amanda yelled to the crew, walking towards Oliver and Felicity. "And you two. Wow! You're going to get me one of my best ratings seasons yet! I know it!"

"Glad we could help," Felicity said as Oliver's lips twitched and he pulled her into his side.

Amanda looked at Felicity's hand, which was wrapped in Oliver's and then back up at them. "So…are you engaged or not? I don't get it."

Felicity and Oliver looked at each other and grinned. "Not yet," Oliver answered while Felicity snuggled further into his side and he wrapped his arm more tightly around her.

Amanda pursed her lips. "Hmm. Well I guess a promise ring will have to do. Usually we like an engagement at the end, but I guess now we can sell this season as having the most shocking ending ever."

Felicity laughed. "Amanda, you sell every season finale like that."

Amanda huffed and shook her head. "So what's next for you two then? You can't be seen in public together until after the show airs. No walking around your hometowns like you're sickeningly in love. Like right now."

Oliver shrugged and looked down at Felicity. "I don't know. Maybe we don't go home?"

Felicity beamed.

"I'm not following," Amanda said, eyes narrowing.

"Felicity, do you want to stay in Bali with me for a while?"

Felicity grinned and nodded.

"And after that? It will be four months before this finale airs," Amanda retorted skeptically.

"After that we'll go somewhere else," Felicity asserted, her eyes never leaving Oliver's face. "I've always wanted to go to Positano in Italy."

"Yeah? What how do you feel about climbing mountains? I've always wanted to see the Andes."

"Maybe we could make a stop on each continent?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Jesus," Amanda groaned. "You two make me sick. Get a room."

Oliver looked at her, pulling Felicity impossibly closer to his side. "Sounds good to me. Hey Digg!" John Diggle looked up from his spot on the periphery. "Would you mind giving Felicity and me a ride back to her suite?"

Diggle smirked and open the car door.

Oliver smiled and looked down as Felicity. "You ready?"

Felicity kissed him with a smile. "Let's go."

Hand in hand they walked away from the scenic cliff of their beginning towards the beautiful possibilities of their future.


	8. After The Final Rose

**A/N:** We've reached the end of the journey on this crazy show. I hope you all enjoyed it! :)

 **Chapter 8: After The Final Rose  
**

Felicity Smoak fiddled with the arrow-shaped ring on her left hand while she waited backstage for her cue. Tonight was the night she and Oliver had been waiting for. The night the world would finally get to see who she had picked at the end of the show and the night that she and Oliver could finally be with each other in the public eye.

Malcolm Merlyn was going through his usual monologue as he introduced the after show. He was seated at the center of the stage with a loveseat and another chair across from him. The audience followed along with his words and cheered, "aww-ed," and booed at the appropriate times.

Felicity was being fitted with a microphone and her makeup and hair was being touched up in a way that would have felt natural while she was doing the show, but she'd since grown out of, so now it felt invasive. Amanda was whispering something in her headset and clutching her clipboard close to her chest.

"Please help me welcome our Bachelorette, Felicity Smoak!" Malcolm crooned. The audience started cheering, and Felicity felt Amanda nudge her forward while whispering "go!" Felicity did as she was told and stepped onto the stage, raising a hand to block out the blinding spotlight that was shining in her eyes.

 _Smile_ , she reminded herself.

She walked towards Malcolm, who pulled her into one of those fake hugs you give to people when you want to make it look like you're friends. Malcolm motioned for Felicity to sit down across from him on the white loveseat. Felicity smoothed out her red dress and took a seat, willing her heart to settle down from the rapid staccato it was beating at being on live television in front of a large crowd.

"Felicity," Malcolm said, giving her a warm smile. "Welcome back!"

"I'm glad to be here," Felicity responded, only half lying.

"We all just watched the heart-stopping conclusion to your journey to find love. I will say, it was difficult to watch you stomp all over my son's heart…" He paused and looked at the audience with a charming grin. They laughed and Felicity plastered on an awkward, sheepish smile. "But after seeing the ending with Oliver, no one can deny that you two belong together."

Here the audience cheered and Felicity felt her face heating up in a mixture of gratitude and chagrin at the warm reception.

"You know that you and Oliver are on track to be our most beloved match yet!" Malcolm continued to the tune of more audience applause.

"That's um…wow," Felicity said with a nervous laugh, her palms starting to sweat at all the attention.

"What do you think it is about you two that appeals so much to the audience?"

"Uh…," Felicity looked around. Why hadn't Amanda prepped her about what kinds of questions she'd be asked? She was probably about to embarrass herself on live television by spitting out some insane innuendo by accident. "I guess just because … we love each other?"

The audience cooed and applauded.

Malcolm smiled his best TV host smile. "That's the crux of it, isn't it? Well let's not keep everyone in suspense. Let's reunite you two lovebirds! Oliver, come on out!"

Felicity looked off the stage behind her and watched Oliver emerge. She hadn't seen him since that morning when they arrived for some interviews and other prep together. He was wearing a blue button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Damn him. He knew what that look did to her.

He caught her eye and smiled happily, but his eyes were teasing. She just smiled and shook her head slightly.

She stood as Oliver approached and he pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her just below her ear. She giggled when he whispered in her ear something not so innocent about the dress she was wearing. He pulled back with a grin, then kissed her firmly on the lips. She smiled against his lips and kissed him back, letting her hands rest in their second favorite place against the nape of his neck (her first favorite place wasn't somewhere she could touch on TV without embarrassing both of them).

The audience hooted at the display of affection.

"Hey," Oliver whispered as he pulled back enough to rest his forehead against hers.

"Hi," she smirked. He laughed.

"Take a seat, you two!" Malcolm commanded. "We have questions for you!"

Oliver put his hand on Felicity's back and they sat down together on the loveseat. Oliver draped one arm behind Felicity and rested it against her waist. With his other hand, he clasped Felicity's hand in his own and began to draw patterns on it– something he'd done since the beginning when he was trying to distract himself or her. Felicity scooted close into his side and placed her free hand on his thigh.

"So," Malcolm began. "Where have you guys been? What have you been up to since that swoon-worthy ending?"

Oliver looked at Felicity. "We've been traveling all over," Felicity answered. "We stayed in Bali for a while, then we just picked some places and we went."

"You should have seen her trying to hike through the Andes while carrying her tablet," Oliver teased.

Felicity's mouth dropped open and she nudged him playfully. "Hey! At least I didn't take a walking stick, old man."

Oliver laughed and leaned towards her slightly. "If memory serves, you liked the walking stick."

Felicity bit her lip in an attempt to keep her smile in.

"Sounds like a fascinating story!" Malcolm interrupted, drawing the attention back to himself. "So you've just been traveling and keeping a low profile?"

"Well, we've made a few stops back at home in between so Felicity could check in on her company in person and I could check in with my sister," Oliver clarified, squeezing Felicity's side playfully.

"Ah yes," Malcolm sighed dramatically. "How are things between the family? I know you two had a rocky hometown date."

Felicity felt Oliver shift a bit. In the past few months, they'd talked about every aspect of that date and the almost break-up. They'd put it behind them, but it still made Oliver a little uncomfortable to remember it. Felicity spoke up so he didn't have to. "Thea is great," she smiled. "We've been talking a lot on the phone and she's even flown out to meet us for the weekend at a few of our travel destinations."

"So she forgives her brother for the whole _mom_ situation?" Malcolm pressed, a glint in his eye that irritated Felicity.

"Of course she does," Felicity defended. "It wasn't Oliver's idea to orchestrate that."

"My sister and I have our own issues to work through with our mother," Oliver added quietly. "But we'll do that on our own. Off-screen."

Malcolm's smile froze, but his eyes frowned. Felicity knew off-camera was a dirty word around here. "So my next question is about the show. What was it like watching it back? Oliver? How did it feel seeing Felicity with all the other men?"

This time Felicity shifted uncomfortably. Oliver knew that her relationships with the other men were never anywhere close to what she had with him. She'd told him before the show even aired exactly who she'd kissed and when and how Amanda had made her say things to make it sound like she was interested in a serious relationship with some of them. He'd accepted her at her word. It also didn't hurt that Tommy had called the night of the finale taping to congratulate them and to assure Oliver that he and Felicity had never been anything but friends.

During the show, Oliver had never let on that her spending time with the other men troubled him in the slightest. It was only afterwards that he confessed that the further in they got, the more it started to bother him. She'd laughed for a good ten minutes when he'd told her that he had trouble liking Ray Palmer because he thought maybe she actually liked him. She'd shoved him playfully when he told her he could tell right away she wouldn't go for Barry since he looked young enough to be carded every time he went to a bar.

"I mean…," Oliver began in answer to Malcolm's question, "it's never _fun_ to watch the woman you love with someone else." He looked at her then and she squeezed his hand. "But I'm confident in what we have. She chose me, so that's what matters."

The audience applauded and Malcolm nodded in approval. "But where there things that were hard to watch back?" he probed, looking between them. "Like the Slade portions, for example?"

Oliver stiffened slightly and Felicity laughed awkwardly. Oliver had tried to make her skip over some of the scenes where Slade was talking to the men in the house, but she'd watched them anyway. He had been right. Slade had said some truly ugly things about her.

"Well the good thing about the show airing months after it was filmed is that I've had plenty of time to move on from that incident. It's also good because there are certain people I don't have to see again," Felicity responded diplomatically.

The audience cheered.

Malcolm smiled like the cat that ate the canary.

Felicity eyed him suspiciously and knew Oliver was doing the same by the way his hand gripped hers a little tighter.

"As a matter of fact," Malcolm began, "Slade Wilson contacted us a few weeks ago hoping to have a chance to meet with you to apologize."

"No," Felicity and Oliver replied at the same time.

"He's here tonight!" Malcolm beamed.

The audience gasped.

Felicity felt the blood drain from her face and Oliver go completely still.

The episode where Slade had been sent home really _had_ been hard to watch. Despite Oliver's warnings, she'd wanted to watch it all. Before that show, Slade had made a few rude comments behind her back about her looks, and she was expecting more of the same.

She'd been wrong. The way Slade had talked about her behind her back on the date – the things he'd said, and the show had _aired_ , about her personal values, about her work ethic, about her personal life were abhorrent. She'd cried in the shower after she'd watched it. When Oliver had found her, he looked like he would have murdered Slade if the man had been on the same continent as him at the time. Instead, he'd just stepped under the spray, fully clothed, and hugged her and told her how he knew it wasn't true and so would America.

She did _not_ want to talk to Slade tonight. Or ever.

"Malcolm, no," Oliver said in a low voice. His arm around Felicity's waist had pulled her impossibly closer and his thumb was rubbing circles against her hip.

Malcolm ignored him and turned to face the audience and the camera. "We have questions about his behavior, so Slade Wilson, come on out!"

In a daze, Felicity stood up and watched as Slade entered the stage from the right to a chorus of mixed claps and boos. Oliver stood next to her, his hand on her back reminding her he was there and that this painfully awkward situation would be over soon and they could go back to their hotel room and find ways to erase the whole thing from their memories.

Malcolm greeted Slade with a handshake. Slade then turned towards Oliver and Felicity and extended his hand. Oliver reached out and shook it, but his face clearly showed he wasn't happy to do it. Slade then looked to Felicity.

"Ah, lovely Felicity. I'm glad to see you." Slade leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before she could stop him. Irritated, she put her hand on his chest and stepped further into Oliver's side. Slade smirked, then plopped down in the chair next to the loveseat. Before they sat down, Oliver subtly shifted behind her so that he was sitting between her and Slade. She was grateful. After the things Slade had said, that man was lucky she hadn't snapped and clawed his eyes out or something just now.

"Slade, you were certainly a polarizing figure this season. Let's take a look back at your journey on the show!" Malcolm announced as the lights dimmed.

Felicity groaned and she felt Oliver kiss the top of her head.

On the big screen behind them, clips of some of Slade's more notorious moments began to play. She watched as Slade taunted Oliver by the pool at the mansion, then punched him in the face when Oliver bit back. She watched as she climbed the obstacle course and Slade yelled something up at her to try to distract her. She heard him make a lewd comment to Oliver about her ass that she hadn't heard on that day and she saw Oliver shove him – which she'd seen in that moment but not understood the context.

She watched as Slade bragged to the men in the house about how many models he'd dated and about how Felicity was clearly the least attractive of any of his romantic prospects. She heard him talk about how a nerd like her probably didn't know how to have a normal conversation or use her hands for anything other than clicking a mouse – giving voice to some of the insecurities she'd had before Oliver had helped her mostly leave them behind.

She saw him telling the other men at the gym on the boxing date that she probably only got the capital to start her company by doing work on her knees.

"Malcolm, is this necessary?" she heard Oliver grit out beside her.

She ground her teeth together when she heard Slade boasting that the only thing he'd ever want from Felicity would be sex, and how even that might not make her worth his time.

The final clip they showed was Oliver punching Slade – earning a smattering of applause – and Slade being carted out of the gym by security. The lights came back up and the audience was quiet.

"So Slade," Malcolm began. "Those were some harsh words. Anything you want to say for yourself?"

Slade paused, then smirked. "I make a habit of saying what a mean."

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him while the crowd booed.

"I thought you wanted to apologize?" Oliver demanded, turning to Slade.

"I do," Slade assured him, looking around him to Felicity. "Sweet Felicity, I want to apologize for letting you think that I'd ever physically lay a hand on you. Although I do think that rumor was perpetuated by the man next to you."

Felicity bristled. "You're apologizing for implying you'd hit me? Out of everything, that's what you're sorry about?"

"Well, yeah." He shrugged, then looked at the audience with a smarmy grin.

"Unbelievable," Oliver muttered next to her. Slade reached across Oliver towards Felicity's hand. Oliver glared and shoved the other man's hand away. "Don't," he growled.

"Oliver," Felicity said quietly, placing a hand on his arm. Oliver looked at her and seemed to get the message to stand down. His jaw clenched, but he sat back in his seat and stopped using his body as a barrier between her and Slade.

Felicity turned her attention to Slade. "Slade, through the course of the show, you said disgusting, defamatory things about me. You're not asking for forgiveness, so I'm not giving it. But I'm also not giving you any more of my time or attention. You can say what you want, but I know it's not true, Oliver knows it's not true, and they know it's not true." Felicity motioned to the audience and was met with an eruption of applause.

Slade looked at the crowd and frowned.

"So whatever your angle is, you can give it up right now. I won't let you earn your fame by bringing me down."

Slade's face turned red and a vein in his forehead throbbed when he looked out at the audience and saw some people standing and clapping at Felicity's words. Felicity smiled at the audience, grateful for the support. Oliver squeezed her hand and gave her a proud smile.

Suddenly, Slade yanked the microphone off his shirt and stood up.

"You said he'd hit me for this!" he yelled to someone off stage. Suspiciously, he was looking at the same place Amanda had been. "You said the audience would appreciate the drama!" He turned to the audience then. "You want drama? I'll show you drama!"

Slade turned back to where Oliver and Felicity were sitting, his eyes lit with a deranged rage. Felicity supposed the guy hadn't kicked his steroid habit since his mood had flipped in an instant. Before she could register what was happening, Oliver had yanked her into a standing position and shoved her behind him. Slade grabbed the arm of the chair he'd been sitting in and flung the chair as hard as he could off the stage. It flipped over and slid into one of the standing cameras with a crash. The audience gasped in shock and horror.

In the next moment, Felicity was glad Oliver had forced her off the couch and was crowding her backwards towards the back of the stage because Slade turned on the loveseat and crouched down, placing his hands underneath it. With a heave, he hoisted the couch up so that it flipped upside down and then tipped off the stage.

Felicity's nails dug into Oliver's forearm as she watched the bizarre scene – unsure of whether to laugh or run backstage in terror.

"He's a fucking lunatic," Oliver mumbled as he watched.

Malcolm was off to the side frantically waving his arms and shouting "Commercial break! Commercial break!"

Felicity saw the red "recording" light tick off and then a team of security guards rushed in to subdue Slade and drag him off the stage. He went with them, shouting the whole time about how he just wanted "his moment." Whatever that meant.

The production assistants rushed in to reset the stage, and one of them came up to Oliver and Felicity and ushered them back over to the righted loveseat. Before they sat, Oliver turned to her and placed his hands on her cheek. "Are you ok?" he whispered.

Felicity looked around and saw a final production assistant picking up the pieces of Slade's shattered microphone. She bit back a laugh and turned her eyes back to Oliver. "I'm fine. I'll be glad when we can leave the ridiculous drama of this show behind."

He grinned and kissed her quickly. "Me too."

They sat down and the PA held up fingers to signal a countdown until they were live again.

When the light turned red again, Malcolm spoke. "Welcome back everyone! Well that was certainly a dramatic turn of events." He looked at the audience and gave a cheesy grin while they laughed and cheered. "Slade Wilson has been removed from the premises and will not be allowed back. Clearly he has not moved past his inappropriate and violent tendencies. Shame on him."

The crowd cheered and Felicity smiled while trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. As if Amanda hadn't known exactly what would happen when Slade got on stage and was met with a different response than he was expecting.

"So let's focus back on our happy couple!" Malcolm continued. "Oliver, Felicity, tell us what's in store for the future? Maybe a relocation to the same city is in the works?"

Oliver looked at Felicity and smiled. "Yeah actually," Felicity began, not able to contain her happy grin. "While we've been traveling, I've actually been working on getting the paperwork and permits in order to open a new branch of Smoak Technologies in Star City." The audience cheered and Oliver kissed her temple. "Once the show is over, Oliver and I are going to head back to Star City and I can start setting up and hiring people and, hopefully, getting to work on our new bio-tech project."

Malcolm waited for the clapping to die down before speaking. "What about you, Oliver? You expressed an interest in politics when you were on the show. Will anything come of that?"

Felicity squeezed Oliver's hand. She knew how much he wanted that and how hard he'd worked to research and study some important city issues with her over the past few months. "Well," he began, "the next election isn't for another year and a half, but I'm hoping to spend that time getting familiar with the issues and participating in my local government in every way I can. Who knows? Maybe running for office is something I can do in the future to give back to my city."

Again, the audience cheered and Felicity felt emotion rising in her chest. She wanted _everything_ for Oliver. She knew how important it was for him to be seen as better than his past mistakes, and hearing the audience embracing him and _cheering for him_? It was a dream. It was better than a dream. It made any contrived drama she had to sit through well worth it just to see the bashful smile bloom on the face of the man she loved.

"What about for you two together?" Malcolm probed. "When we left you in Bali, you exchanged some pretty powerful words. What can we expect for you two in the future?"

Oliver and Felicity locked eyes and smiled.

"I guess we'll see," Felicity answered coyly.

"Actually, I have something I'd like to say," Oliver announced. Felicity raised an eyebrow at him, and he just took her hands and smiled. "Felicity. Like I told you at the end of the crazy journey on the show, I never expected to find you. Somewhere between 'hello' and the roses each week, I fell in love with you. I loved you then, and I love you even more now, if that's even possible. You make me laugh, you surprise me, you challenge me, and you make me thankful every day that I signed up to go on a reality television show." Felicity laughed a little and he smiled. "This show brought us together, so I thought it was only fitting that we took the next step at the very end of it."

Oliver scooted off the loveseat and knelt down in front of her.

On one knee.

Felicity stopped breathing. The audience screamed and cheered. He took her hands again.

"I want to go to sleep next you and wake up beside you every day for the rest of my life. I want to give you a home with a yard and a couple kids. I want to be there to watch you create miracles with your technology. I want to spend forever watching your face turn pink every time you babble and your eyes light up every time you talk about computer coding."

"Oliver," Felicity whispered, wiping at her eyes – her heart beating wildly and almost drowning out his beautiful words.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black, velvety box. He opened it and Felicity gasped when she saw the most beautiful diamond ring sparkling against the spotlights.

"Felicity Smoak, will you make me the happiest man on the face of the earth? Will you marry me?"

Felicity wasn't in control of her body as she nodded, chanted "yes", and sank to her knees in front of him. He made quick work of transferring her arrow ring to her right hand, then replacing it with the engagement ring on her right. When he was finished, she grabbed his face and pulled him close to smash their lips together.

She couldn't even hear the audience's cheers or see their standing ovation because she was so consumed by him and how much she loved him in that moment.

He kissed her for another moment, then pulled her to him in a bone-crushing hug and buried his face in her neck. She hugged him back just as tightly. As unconventional as it sounded, she'd found her happily ever after on a TV show where she least expected it. Signing up for this stupid, frustrating, sometimes annoying TV show had ended up being the best choice she'd ever made. She could no longer even imagine her life without Oliver in it.

"Well, that's our show folks! Tune in next season to watch my son, Tommy Merlyn, search for true love!" Malcolm crooned as the finale music started to play over the loud cheering and clapping of the audience.

Oliver loosened his hold just enough to look at Felicity - their faces still close enough that they were breathing the same air.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she affirmed, kissing him.

The red "recording" light flicked off as the credits rolled on the big screen. The show was officially over, but their lives were just beginning. Felicity had never been more excited for the end of a television show.


End file.
